Jack Frost
by eyeadore
Summary: This is a story about Jack Frost, and the girl he falls in love with. He begins to have problems with this romance when he finds out the other personifications disagree with it. The story begins with Jack waking from a 2-year coma, recalling the events.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

**_Jack_**

"Wake up, Jack." a deep, male voice calmly said. It was almost a command. It was said with such force, that naturally, I awoke.

It took a few seconds for my vision to clear and focus on the things in front of me, which became that of an older, fatter gentleman with a bushy, white beard. As his face became more recognizable, he smiled in an all-knowing smile that I knew only came from one other person. Some call him Father Time, but I chose the human alternative and nicknamed him Chronos. He hates being called that, because it doesn't give him that dominating ring like "Father Time" does.

"Chronos." I managed to say in a hoarse whisper, trying to recollect what happened to me. "What the hell happened?"

"You don't remember a thing, I trust?" he asked, his nose wrinkling. He sighed, and sat down next to me. "You were put to sleep for two years."

"How? Why?" I asked, utterly perplexed. "And what happened to winter while I was away?"

"Winter went along like it always does. It doesn't need Jack Frost to make it winter all the time." he smiled.

"But the waters need to freeze and the flowers need to frost and.." I was completely at a loss for words.

"And you needed to take a rest. You did something I told you not to do." he said grumpily. "Are you sure you don't remember?"

I instinctively put my hands over my forehead, trying to think hard about what happened before I fell asleep.

"I remember running through the trees, and..." I began, my head spinning. I slowly sat up, rubbing my forehead in confusion. My mind began wandering into unknown territory. I remembered a finger gently trailing across a crisp, frosted window. I remembered sand. I remembered a frozen stream. I remembered a pine cone encrusted in ice.

And then I remembered Azura. Immediately, my mind became clear.

"Where is she?" I asked.

Chronos wrinkled his eyebrows and looked down at the stone bed I had been sleeping on.

"The situation..." he began sadly, "Was taken care of."


	2. Chapter 1 Part 1

**Chapter 1 : Make Me Real**

**Part 1**

**_Jack_**

When teachers discuss me in schools, they depict me as this cold-hearted, elf-like creature. They're completely wrong... I don't look a thing like an elf.

Walking towards windows and seeing all these families sitting down for dinner kind of makes for a depressing winter. Which, if you haven't noticed, is my whole life. Winter happens everywhere, every minute. So as you can see, I'm a very busy guy. As I was saying... I don't look like an elf. When I see myself in the reflection of a window before I start to blow frost onto it, I see a tall man with piercing blue eyes looking back. I have dark hair, unlike those movies and books I see everywhere that claim me having blond hair. I have a very pale complexion that I suppose I get from being in the cold so much. I also prefer to dress in darker clothes, not white. I live with white all around me, why would I want to wear it?

Anyway, humans do have the cold-hearted personality right. I wouldn't say I'm a very social guy.. I get along okay with some of the other gods out there. Some. Others out there tend to act cocky and think their hotshots, and I don't really go for that. We, meaning the other personifications out there, are not allowed to converse (or for that matter, even allow to be seen) with humans. Chronos thinks that if we are seen, then belief is pointless, and it could end our existence in this world. For once, the old man could have a point. This may also be why I have very few friends, because I'm listening to some old fart. Don't get me wrong, Chronos is a good guy. He means well.. He's just a bit domineering. Chronos was the first to be thought up as a god, so he naturally ruled over the rest of us.

Gods are different. At least the ones I've ever met. We were all brought into existence because someone believes in us, or at least that's what Chronos thinks. Some gods think there really is a God and Devil out there, fighting good and evil, but I'd like to think if there really was a God, he'd be telling us what to do. He would have let us in on the big secret.. He'd have to. Another thing that bugs me about humans is that when they hear the word "gods", they imagine us in togas or loin cloths, or what-have-you. We are quite fashionable men and women. We stick with the current trends as often as possible.

I was never really good talking with girls. I always said something that came off rude to them and they'd leave me in disgust. In other words, my love life was lacking... Well, it was lacking love. I'm just not very approachable. The women that would even get close enough for me to touch would complain that my hands were like ice. I guess freezing so many things eventually turns you cold as well.

It's pretty routine, my job... I have a set schedule in mind. When I first started frosting windows and greenery, I was always being frantic about it. It took about a century to get into my routine, and I like it a lot. It makes sense this way. Time doesn't exist in my universe. I can stop time, let time go, and travel slowly in time. I can't go back, however. Not even Chronos can go back in time.

I prefer frosting windows, because I can get more creative. It's like a blank canvas. My specialties lie in fern and ivy patterns, but I occasionally try new experiments.

But you, the reader, are probably wondering who Azura is, right? Well, that's what this story is about, so I will tell you..


	3. Chapter 1 Part 2

**Chapter 1: Make Me Real **

**Part 2**

_**Jack**_

I was heading towards my next window, which last winter happened to be inserted into a vacant house. Upon reaching the window, however, I came to realize that the house was being occupied by a family. The room inside was dark and appeared to be a bedroom. Sleeping cozily in her bed next to the window, with the moon illuminating her face, was Azura. She reminded me so much of a flapper from the 1920s, with her pale complexion and her dark, wavy hair. She looked a bit like the actress Mary Pickford, but with her own kinds of beauty to add. While she slept, she smiled, which put a smile to my face. She was very beautiful. I quietly sighed out, mostly in awe, which began to frost the window only slightly.

At that point, I wanted nothing more than to be human and be with her.

It took ages in my universe to finally accept time and allow it to go on. I could have stared at that face forever, but I had to let time go on as it should. Before leaving, I decided I wanted to paint something more than just ferns and ivy on her window. I began by softly breathing ivy, wrapping around itself like a heart. Then, instead of painting fern onto her window, I painted floral patterns. More specifically, I painted roses. After being satisfied with my work, I left her and the only present I could ever offer her with.

I'm not going to lie to you. That night, I left a few things unfinished so that I could get back to her window and watch her awake from her slumber. I could barely see through the window, but she awoke as beautifully as she slept. Gracefully. She turned over towards the window and at first I thought she could see me. Her eyes widened, but then I remembered what I had drawn onto her window. She must have been surprised at the designs the frost had made. She smiled a gorgeous smile and put a hand up towards it, careful not to touch. She traced along an invisible surface that wouldn't wreck my work, which I thought was lovely of her. I then was able enough to go back to work.

Is it possible for a personification to fall in love? This was the question that was in my mind the moment I laid eyes on her. At this point, I didn't know her name. I found myself breathing her onto windows and having to start over. I didn't know what love was, because I never had the experience, but I did know I had these feelings for a girl that I never thought was possible. These feelings burst out of me so suddenly, so profoundly, that I needed to slow down and catch my breath once in awhile. Breathing was impossible and it shouldn't have been. The breath I breathe is frost, it's part of me. It's _all _of me. It's the only reason I exist. What if I see her another time and I can't breathe at all? What happens if I stop breathing? What if I cannot make frost anymore? Will I disappear?

All these questions haunted my mind. The vision of_ her_ haunted my sight.

I found myself humming a tune while I walked back and forth to my next stops. Even Erebus, the god of darkness, noticed I was in a much more happier mood. Erebus barely talks much, preferring to keep to himself, but he mentioned while passing by that I seemed to be in a brighter mood.

"I don't know why," Erebus said, "but I swear you look like you're hiding something amazing."

"Maybe I am." I smiled coyly.

"Well, well. And I thought I was the dark and mysterious one." he said.

"Maybe we should switch jobs, then." I replied.

"Nah. I like mine. I don't think I could waste all my life frosting windows, freezing water and the like." Erebus said, walking away.

"Of course! You prefer walking around watching everyone _else _do the work. All you do is spread darkness." I said, rolling my eyes as his shadow disappeared into the woods.

I wanted to see her again. I came back the next night, watching as Morpheus blew his sand gently over her. Her eyes began to slowly close, and eventually she drifted off to sleep. I watched as Morpheus slipped back into darkness, heading to the next house to aide others into falling asleep. When I was sure he was out of sight, I walked up towards the window and stood there. I spent all day, when I wasn't fantasizing about being with her, trying to figure out what to paint next. I didn't know what women like. I studied the female humans that passed by, watching what they needed. I could tell some wanted their hands to be held. They kept fidgeting their hands nearer to their loved ones, but kept hesitating. I also saw some looking into shop windows that I was frosting, and they were looking inside at the jewelry and clothing. This made me so confused. I threw away all that I saw and decided to paint my own wants and desires. I blew onto her window gently again, trying to ease the frost out as if it were the most fragile thing in the world, and it was. In this one moment, this frost I breathed out was as fragile and as delicate as the love I had for this unknown girl. This time, after I was done painting the frost on her window, I left as soon as I could. I almost felt hurt, knowing that I could never be with her. She could never see me. Even a god can't have what he desires.


	4. Chapter 1 Part 3

**Chapter 1: Make Me Real**

**Part 3**

_**Azura**_

Winter is the worst season of all. I never liked it. I hated snow, even when I was little. I lived in a place where seasonal winters never existed. I loved it there. Unfortunate for me, though, my parents had to move to a place where winter is inevitable, Minnesota. When we arrived, I think as soon as I unpacked I crawled into bed and decided I never wanted to get out. The bed was right next to the window, and it was just taunting me, telling me I'm stuck here in this hellhole. My first night was unbearable. I tossed and turned and fussed about the cold. I kept feeling a draft seep into the blankets and it was so cold... Like ice. In the morning, when I thought it would be just as dreadful as the night, I awoke and saw the prettiest designs made of frost on my window. Some of the shapes I swear looked like hearts and some even looked like flowers.

It almost made me think of that man, Jack Frost. The elf that came to your window and frosted them while you sleep. I couldn't help but smile, thinking of a gnome trying to reach the window. Perhaps I should put a ladder near the window for him?

After the thought finally cleared, I wondered how nature could be so beautiful. How something as simple as ice could shape itself into artistic designs on windows. How is that _possible_? Maybe there really is a Jack Frost? Who knows.

I barely talked to my parents. I was seventeen and like all seventeen year-olds before me, I was misunderstood. My parents just didn't get me, but that was okay. They didn't have to. I liked being all to myself, left with my own company.

Thankfully when we moved into the house, we moved at a time when school was close to breaking for the holidays. My parents decided it was easier for me to start when the next semester rolled around, since my mother swore I'd know an awful lot more than the rest of my class anyway. The next semester started in the beginning of January. We moved into the house on November 19th.

Waking up and seeing pretty designs on your window kind of gets you in the mood for happiness. I don't know why a frosted window could make me happy, but it did. It got me into a strange spirit of happiness and the only way I knew how to express my feelings of joy was to take a walk and look at more designs of frosted things. At one point, I heard a hum while I walked, and actually found it to be my own humming. I was in such a good mood that I was _humming_. I love to sing, but not spontaneously. I normally sing when I have music playing, but this humming felt like it was coming from somewhere else as well. I just couldn't stop, even if I tried. It was coming from my soul. Maybe I was so depressed last night, that I was responding back with a strange feeling of gladness. It happens to people. Usually before they get put away into an insane asylum, but it happens.

Walking around the town felt a bit strange since I didn't know anyone, but I didn't pay attention to the people anyway. I mainly walked around to look at more of these designs on windows. All over town there were hearts, flowers, and bits of ivy here and there.

"Excuse me.." I heard a voice behind me say, as I was ogling the designs on a metal post.

I turned around.

"Yes?" It was an older gentleman in his forties or fifties, carrying a newspaper in one hand and a cigarette in the other.

"I haven't seen you around before.. You new here?" he asked me, leaning against the building he had come out of.

"Yes," I answered, awkwardly shifting from my left foot to my right. Boy, this town must be close-knit if he can tell I'm new.

"You seem familiar, though.. Do you have any relatives that live here?" he asked me.

"Well, my mother grew up here.. She moved after she got accepted to a college in California, though."

"California? You're not talking about Lucy, are you?" he asked.

"Lucy Flint?" I questioned, then remembered, "I mean, Lucy Stevens.. That was her maiden name."

"Well! I never thought I'd hear that name again.." he laughed, shaking his head.

"You knew my mom?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Yes I did.. We were good friends before she left," he stated, "You have your mother's eyes."

"Yeah, that's how they came up with my name, Azura," I explained, "Because of the blue eyes."

"Oh, I didn't even ask what your name was, sorry.." he said, touching his forehead, "I'm George Hansen."

"Hello." I blushed.

"Well, I have to get back to work, but if you see your mom, tell her I said 'Hi'!" he said, as he stood straight and began walking into the building he had been leaning against.

Oh God. He paused at the door. What more does he want?

"It was nice meeting you, Azura!" he exclaimed.

"Nice meeting you as well!" I said, waving.

He then walked through the doorway and closed the door behind him. I read the sign beside him, "Hansen's Bookstore". I was hesitating, curious to see what was inside, but eventually I decided on not entering the store. I just said goodbye to George, and I wasn't in the mood for talking again. He was a nice guy, but I had a strange feeling he was more than a friend of my mom's. The way he said her name... I started walking again, this time towards home. I was only about half a mile away, but I didn't want to wander off too far, and I walk extremely slow for most people.


	5. Chapter 1 Part 4

**Chapter 1: Make Me Real**

**Part 4**

_**Azura**_

When I came back home, it was already close to getting dark. It didn't really feel that cold while I was out, which turned out to be about six hours, but maybe I was just getting immune to the cold. My parents didn't even realize I had left the bedroom.

"When did you leave?" my mom asked, as she set dishes onto the table.

"Early-ish.. About eleven or twelve in the morning," I said.

"In the morning?" my mom laughed, "Honey, that's not very early."

"Trust me. It is for me," I said, eyeing her.

"Whatever you say, Sweetie," my mom smiled.

I winced. I hate it when she calls me Sweetie. Or Honey, Baby, or any other pet names. I felt so childish.

"Oh, some guy named George Hansen says "Hi"," I told her.

"George?" she questioned, "I haven't seen him in ages. How is he?"

"Old." I said.

"Ouch, be nice. He's my age.." she said, handing me silverware to set next to the plates.

"I think he owns a bookstore." I said, putting the silverware down in the correct places.

Whenever I help set the table, I always set it wrong. Or so my mom thinks. I always set the forks closest to the plates, and my mom always switches them after I'm done, putting the knives in place of the forks, and vice-versa. I have never Googled this, but I'm stubborn enough to believe that I am correct, and that she is wrong.

"That's right.. His father had owned one before I moved to California." she said, more to herself than to me.

We finished setting the table in silence, my mother sighing half the time. When I had finished, she started switching the silverware around in her preferred places.

"So what else did you do today?" she asked me, as I sat down into a chair.

"Umm.." I thought, looking up at the ceiling for memory guidance, "I guess I just walked around."

"No cute boys around the area?" she asked me, finishing her task and looking it over with her hands on her hips.

"Definitely not." I said, remembering the sparse teenage boys I saw while I was on my walk.

"There wasn't much to choose from when I grew up here, either." she said, walking towards the kitchen, "Why don't you tell your father that supper is ready?"

Dinner was boring, like usual. Mom and Dad talked the entire time about their day and what tomorrow might be like, and seldom asked me questions. I finished my food as fast as physically possible, and excused myself. I wanted to soak in a nice, hot bath. The water felt so warm, that it drained every cold, chilling feeling I had in my body. After what seemed like an hour, I got out and toweled. I changed into warm sweats and walked towards my bedroom, feeling the cool floor against my feet. I crawled into bed and brought the covers around me. I turned onto my left side and gazed at my window. It was beautiful. The moon lightly came through the parts of the frost that was thinner than the rest, and it struck me in awe. I closed my eyes smiled, thinking about a huge castle made of ice and snow. Daydreaming started to lull me into slumber. Once I had started to drift off to sleep, I felt the coldness seep in again. My eyelids were like bricks, making themselves close tight. I wanted to wake up, to grab more blankets, but my eyes finally forced my mind into sleep.


	6. Chapter 1 Part 5

**Chapter 1: Make Me Real**

**Part 5**

_**Azura**_

Dreams can be strange.. Tonight's was almost too strange. I dreamt I was still in bed, but the window was half-open. The window had the words "find me" drawn into the frost. I remember laughing and thinking about how silly this game was, but I opened the window and jumped out. My feet hit the snow, but it wasn't cold. It was almost warm, actually. I walked around the side of the house, trying to shout "Where are you?", but only a soft whisper came out. I started crying, because I couldn't find the person, and I thought that since it was winter, they were probably hiding somewhere, freezing to death. A wind picked up and starting blowing the trees in the wooded area nearby. I decided to look there first, hoping maybe that the wind was giving me a sign. I walked for what felt like an eternity trying to find this person. I started to cry, so I sat down beside a stream, trying to control myself. Then I heard a male's voice behind me say, "Don't be sad." I turned around, but no one was there. Then I woke up.

When I woke up, I looked back up at the window. There were no hearts. No flowers.

Instead, in its absence, were three words.

"_MAKE ME REAL_"

I felt like I had a secret that no one in the world knew. The funny thing is, I actually _did _have a secret no one else knew. I just didn't know it yet myself. I smiled and wanted to touch this beautiful, amazing thing on my window, but I knew that if I did, it would disappear. I wanted to touch something. I was getting anxious seeing all these strange miracles appearing everywhere, but I needed more.

Imagine for a moment that you were seeing frost appearing into certain images or words on your window. Your first thought is that you might be losing it, right? It comes to mind sooner or later, anyway. This was my first thought. I thought that I was going crazy. The first morning wasn't as crazy. If frost can make all sorts of patterns, then why not hearts and flowers? However, once it starts spelling words out, crazy kind of comes along with the thinking. I decided to stay in today and leave the curtains closed.

The day was long and quite boring. I sat in bed most of the time and read a little of a book I had bought and occasionally watched some TV. Basically, I was wasting time and trying to distract myself. Once night hit, I could barely fall asleep. I kept tossing and turning, tossing and turning.. I was just about to drift off to sleep, when I had this sudden urge to take a walk. I kept thinking in my mind that I could take one tomorrow, but then my conscience kept telling me that if I don't go now, I would regret it. Pulling the covers off of me, I crawled out of bed and put on my shoes and coat.

Walking is good for you, it helps clear your mind; and in order to sleep soundly, it is best to have your mind cleared. So taking a walk is a good thing for me. Maybe it will also keep me from dreaming vivid dreams, such as the one I had last night. I decided to walk around to my window, so that if there really was a Jack Frost, I could see him in action. Unfortunate for me, though, he was not there, and the window barely had any frost on it. I felt the wind fanning me, saw it swaying the trees back and forth. This swaying reminded me of my dream, which also brought the memory of walking into the woods. As if possessed, I immediately walked towards the trees. I felt that maybe, if there really were something out there trying to connect with me, then I should try to connect back. My dream might have been a premonition, a sign that I needed to act on, and so now I shall act upon it.

I walked for a good five minutes, or what felt like five minutes. I passed by so many trees and yet they all still looked different than each other. They seemed to have their own glistening frost surrounding them like a blanket, but each had their own designs. Their own markings. I wanted to trace every line that the frost had made, but I knew that if I did, I would ruin its beauty. My warmth would melt it all away.

The wind started to pick up, and with it came the cold. I was about to turn back from where I had came, when I saw a stream up ahead.

"Wow." I sighed, walking cautiously over to it.

When I got within a foot from the frozen stream, I knelt down beside it. The stream was almost already completely ice; It _is _almost December, after all. I almost half-expected to hear a voice behind me. In fact, I was anticipating it. I kept thinking, _this is all happening for a reason. _I waited for it, but it never came. Not even a whisper. I turned around, but nobody was there.

"I believe in you, Jack Frost. I really do." I whispered, sighing sadly and rolling my eyes in frustration.

I stood up and walked back home. It felt longer walking back then it did getting to the stream, which happens to many, I suppose. It might have felt longer, though, because I think I might have took longer. I felt that if I walked slower, maybe my strange friend might appear. Maybe he doesn't really exist, but I couldn't help it. I hated my life, but one feeling, one _dream, _took all the hate away by waking me up with beautiful things to look at. He might not be real, but I will sure as hell make him real.


	7. Chapter 1 Part 6

**Chapter 1: Make Me Real**

**Part 6**

_**Jack**_

"Hey, Jack. Come here.." I heard a voice from in the darkness of the forest I was in. I was gently frosting over a small puddle that had melted from the sun. I looked over in the direction of the voice.

It was Phobetor, the god of nightmares. He had wavy, black hair that flowed down to his back. He was wearing a long black cloak that reached down to his knees. He was sitting on a fallen tree, and patting a bare spot next to him. I walked over and sat down.

"Phantasos tells me there is a young girl out there pining for you." he said, matter-of-factly.

Phantasos is Phobetor's brother. Phantasos is also the god of dreams, only his dreams lie more in vivid fantasies.

"Really.." I said as casually as possible. I couldn't help but smile, wonder..

"Yes." he said, watching my reaction intently.

"That's strange.." I tried to laugh jokingly.

"He also said that her window seemed to have words written into it... Your own handwriting?" he said softly, almost in a whisper.

"What's your point?" I growled, folding my arms and looking down at the ground.

"My point is.. Well.. I was just wondering if she's ever seen you?" he asked.

Phobetor seemed more kind then ever, but only in this one moment.

"No.. It's impossible for humans to see us. You know that." I answered.

"Yes, that's true. But it's happened before." he said.

"And you know what happened to him.." I reminded him.

"We don't know that!" he said, obviously frustrated, and throwing his hands up in the air,

"Nevermind."

"Listen.." I paused, trying to find the right words. I have never really gotten along with Phobetor, so it was hard to talk to him like a friend, but I wanted to be honest with him.

"I.. I don't.. I was just bored. I had nothing better to do."

Phobetor laughed.

"I've been inside her mind, Jack. I know what she's thinking.. Plus, how can you have nothing better to do? You have a huge job! You're constantly all over the place trying to turn water to ice and frost all kinds of garbage.." he said, and changed his topic once he saw my reaction, "I mean, your works of art. You had a lot better things to do."

"I don't know.. There was something about her." I answered honestly this time.

"There must have been... She must be quite fascinating if she can warm the coldest heart of all." he stated, smiling.

"Yeah." I responded, smiling back.

"Well, I have to get back to my nightmares," he said, standing up, "And I really hope, and I really mean this, that you see this girl again. And that maybe she sees you, too."

"Thanks.. Though if she sees me, that might not be a good thing," I laughed.

"It's only one person. It wouldn't harm any god, any one bit.." he replied, nodding and walking off towards the darkness, pausing for a second, "Oh, Jack."

"Yeah?" I said, looking over.

"Her name is Azura." he said, smiling.

"Azura?" I smiled. "How do you know that?"

"I can enter her mind, Jack. Don't you forget that." he said, winking and walking away.

After I watched him leave, I traveled across the world to Azura's home, zooming past colors without a clear mind.. I kept thinking about her; Thinking how crazy I must seem. I reached my destination just as the moon peaked its head out of the clouds. The perfect time to see her.

"Azura.." I whispered, touching her window pane. My hand frosted the part of the window that it touched.

I wanted her to see me, but I knew she never could. It was impossible for humans to see us.

"I need to forget about you and pretend like you don't exist." I told myself, letting my hand fall gently down.

I never felt the emotion of yearning as strong as I did just now. I wanted to crawl through her window, the way I'd seen countless other men do to be with their sweethearts. I stood motionless, unable to move away. I turned my attention to the window pane and breathed her name out in ice, and only when I could no longer see her on the other side, I was able to leave.


	8. Chapter 1 Part 7

**Chapter 1: Make Me Real**

**Part 7**

_**Jack**_

Morta and I can sometimes get along. She certainly isn't close enough to what you would call a friend, but occasionally, when she's not busy, we talk about how things have been going for us. Morta is what humans tend to call "Death". She was derived from plenty of religions, but she preferred the Roman belief, and stuck with the name "Morta". In the human form, she would be about in her mid-twenties, with long, raven black hair, and eyes a mysterious shade of dark grey. She had looks that could kill, looks that _have _killed. We were sitting on an unoccupied bench in Italy, watching tourists pass.

"Morta.." I began.

"Yes?" she asked, coming out of her trance of watching children running into a crowd of pigeons on the ground.

"You once told me that when you were sending a man off to the Underworld, the two of you had an attraction.." I tried to think of more to say, but I could not.

"Yes." she breathed, examining her fingernails in an attempt to cover up her oncoming sadness.

"Well.. You never told me the whole story. I was wondering if you wouldn't mind telling me more about it." I said, striving to sound casual.

"What all did you want to know about, Jack?" she asked, looking over at me.

"As much as possible."

She sighed.

"Alright.." she started, guiding her words out carefully, "Well, when I cut his life's thread, and he became a spirit, I told him what had happened, and he accepted it. I told him I was supposed to take him to the Underworld. When we were on our journey, gliding through spacial time, we began to bond. I started to acquire.. feelings.. that I had never felt. He mirrored these feelings I had, and revealed them to me. At first, I was taken aback. Although I had similar feelings, I was unsure as to what extent. We were in my realm at this time, and I was about to take him to his destination, when he kissed me."

Morta blushed scarlet and smiled, looking away.

"Then what happened?" I asked, smiling back.

"I kissed him back, and pushed him into the Alcyonian. I was too embarrassed to see him after that, so I figured he'd find the Underworld himself." she said sadly.

"But you still think about him?" I asked.

Anyone who tries to get Morta to open up is clearly treading water, but it just might work in my favor considering that every time I walk on water it turns to ice anyway.

"Mmm.. Sometimes." she laughed. She stared into space, thinking of a faint memory, and then her look became serious, "I have to go, Jack."

"Are you sure?" I asked, "I haven't upset you or anything, have I?"

"No.. No. I have an.. appointment." she said, waving her notorious scissors softly into the air.

"Oh. That kind of appointment." I laughed, "Then I shouldn't waste any more of your time."

I stood up, and extended my hand to help her rise. She kindly took it, and stood as well. She pocketed her shears, the shears in which she uses to aid humans into escaping life, and waved her hand.

"I will see you, sometime." she smiled, drifting away into a crowd.

Morta steps with grace, even though you can barely see her when she walks. She prowls in her own spatial field, preferring to not only be invisible to humans, but to other personifications as well. It's quite hard to contact her when I need to whenever she does that.

I've been through so many winters, but I can still remember all of them. Memory is different with personifications. We're almost programmed, able to come up with data from centuries ago in just a matter of minutes. The only trouble is that we don't know our futures. We don't know if there is a future. Every second, every hour, every year; There is always a possibility that humanity could stop believing in us. It's happened to some. Very few, but that's still always something to worry about. We don't sleep or eat, we have no need to. Despite that, though, I can dream.. And lately I have been dreaming a lot more often than usual. These dreams I am talking about are similar to what you would call a daydream. Occasionally, while painting frost onto a window, I picture myself inside that room. I try to think about what it would have been like to be human. Humans are so afraid of dying, and yet they don't realize they have the greatest gift of all. Life. A chance to live. I, an immortal being, would give up everything just to live one day as a human. To be able to experience real dreams, and to feel empty in my stomach. To be able to wade in the ocean, feeling the tide come in. To shiver when I feel cold. To feel warmth, for once.

To be with her.

I want to know what it is like to be loved. I want to know in those special moments that I can love just as much. I want Azura to see me, like I can see her. I want her to fall in love with me. I want us to be together forever, even if that meant in death, for my part, anyway. I have been thinking these thoughts since I had spoken with Morta. I didn't want to lose anything like Morta did. Morta had a chance to feel love, but she pushed it away. I don't think I'll ever get that chance, so dreaming is all I have. It's all I can come close to a life.

I figured I'd let nature take its course.. And eventually, it did.


	9. Chapter 2 Part 1

**Chapter 2 : Dreams Unwind**

**Part 1**

_**Azura**_

I awoke to the smell of coffee wafting into my bedroom. It was heavenly. I gradually sat up, and lifted the covers off to my side. I felt for my alarm clock and brought it to my sight. It read 5:41 AM. It seemed a bit early for my normal waking hours, but I decided to wake up anyway. I crawled out of bed and searched in my closet for clothes to wear.

Eventually, I found some decent-looking clothes, and walked in to my bathroom to shower and dress. As soon as I finished putting on makeup, I ran excitedly down the hallway to grab myself a cup of coffee. Strange as it was, I felt happier today. After pouring coffee into my cup and mixing cream in with it, I walked carefully to the table. My mom was in her own world when I sat down. My father was in the living room, checking on the weather before he left for work.

"Mom?" I started, more as a statement, letting her know I acknowledged her.

"Azura," she smiled, saluting me with her cup of coffee and then sipping from it, "Crazy weather, eh?"

"Yeah, it's definitely not California." I agreed.

"No, it's not," she smiled, "But I hope you're liking it so far."

"It's getting a little easier, I suppose." I laughed.

"I was thinking maybe next week we could go check out where I used to live with my parents?" she said, setting her cup down and watching me carefully.

"Umm, sure. If you want to.." I said.

We sat in silence for awhile, listening to the hum of the fridge, and the weatherman on the TV in the living room talking about the snowstorm that was about blow thing my mother and I had never really discussed before was her real reason for leaving Minnesota. Her father had hit her a lot, growing up, and her mother defended him. She was constantly fighting with them over small problems, and constantly getting hurt in the left her feeling alone and scared all the time. She always dreamed of getting as far away as possible from the two of them, and when she was accepted to California College of the Arts, she immediately packed her bags and left. My dad told me the gist of this story, and I never mentioned to her that I knew.

"Are you hungry?" she asked me, standing up with a smile on her face.

"Hmm," I thought for a second. We almost always skipped breakfast, "Sure. A little."

"Good, so am I. Let's make something. I'm starving." she complained, going through cabinets and looking for food.

"Do we even have anything for breakfast?" I asked her, laughing slightly.

" I dunno!" she said, mimicking my laugh.

Eventually, we found eggs in the fridge, which I refused to eat. We also found a can of sliced potatoes. The expiration date was far away in the future, so I settled for those. I let my mom fix the food while I sat down and drank my coffee and listened to her sing along to the radio. Oldies. She always loved listening to the oldies. She never had a CD of any older bands, except maybe a few from the 70s, but she always insisted on playing an oldies station on the radio. At the moment, she was shaking her hips and singing along to a Beatles song. I laughed along and sang occasionally when she yelled, "You know the words, Azura!"

Once the food was ready, I set plates and forks out. My father had already left by now, so I didn't set a plate out for him. We ate again in silence. Once in awhile, my mother would ask me about school-related things, which I tried to avoid. I hated the thought of school. I finished eating just as she was about to say something else, probably about how we needed to shop for supplies, and excused myself. I glanced at the clock and realized it was already 10:12 AM. I actually spent three hours with my mom. I expected cooking breakfast would have taken a bit long, but I didn't think just chatting with her would turn out to take three hours. I filled my cup with more coffee and cream and walked to my bedroom, wondering what on earth I could do now to pass the time. I opened my bedroom door and walked to my bed, careful not to spill any of the coffee. I set my cup down on the night table, and crawled into bed. I was about to pick my cup back up, when something caught my eye. I turned my head a bit to my left and, immediately, my jaw dropped. There, drawn onto my window in ice, was my name.

"AZURA"

My heart skipped more than just one beat. It seemed to have stopped for the longest time. I had to breathe just to allow it to beat again. Before I could even smile in wonder, tears began to show in fear. Either I really was going crazy, or I was communicating with an imaginary friend. In other words, I was going crazy. Plain and simple.


	10. Chapter 2 Part 2

**Chapter 2 : Dreams Unwind**

**Part 2**

_**Azura**_

I felt like another walk, to clear my senses. I stood up and grabbed my coat and shoes, putting them on slowly. I then lifted my coffee cup with my right hand and headed towards the door. I didn't even tell my mother I was leaving when I passed the kitchen on my way out. I could hear her putting clothes in the washer, so she probably wouldn't notice I was gone anyway. I just needed air. A cool breeze welcomed me as I exited the house. It felt soothing, like a cool rag on a warm forehead. I decided to walk into the woods again, to that same stream I had found on my last stroll. I didn't exactly know which way I had went, so I just kept going straight, allowing fate to hopefully steer for me. I sipped from my coffee here and there, when I needed warmth. After what seemed like five minutes of walking, I saw a pile of trees ahead, obstructing my view. I had seen this last time, so I knew this was the right place. I veered off to one side of the fallen trees and slid my way between two pine trees, which happened to spill sheets of snow onto me as I passed through. So much for my coffee. When I had finally brushed most of the snow off of me, I realized I wasn't the only person that had been snowed upon. Beside the fallen trees, kneeling down, was a man wearing all black.

Oh, joy. A goth kid ran away from his home and decided to make my woods his new residence.

"Umm. What are you doing on my property?" I blurted out, blushing as I realized how rude I must have seemed.

He opened his mouth to speak, but he stopped, clearly taken aback. He smiled crazily, and shook his head.

"Are you lost?" I asked him, trying to sound more sincere, but feeling impatient that he wasn't answering me. This is sometimes how murder stories start.

"No.." he said, in a deep, husky voice. He looked away from me, pausing to catch his breath, "I mean, yes. I'm lost."

He scratched his head and widened his eyes.

"Okay.. Do you want me show you how to get to town or something?" I asked him.

He looked up at me, and I realized how different he looked. He had the bluest set of eyes I had ever seen. They were almost too unusual to assume they were real, and yet, they looked natural for him. He looked back down, examining a pine cone that was encrusted in ice, and closed his eyes in thought. While he was busy closing his eyes, I glanced at him, trying to see him correctly. He was gorgeous. I kept my eyes on him entirely until he finally opened his eyes again.

"Umm.." he began looking back up at me, "Would you mind? I don't know where I am at all.."

"Yeah, that's fine." I said, waiting for him to stand.

"Thanks, I'd appreciate it." he smiled, pocketing the icy pine cone and standing up.

"Don't worry." I sighed, slipping back through the trees. I really didn't want to leave the woods, but I could come back later.

We walked in silence for a bit, so I figured I should start a conversation so that he didn't think I was rude. Considering the way I was treating him already, I really needed to prove I really wasn't that awful of a person.

"Do you live around here?" I asked.

"Kind of.." he said after awhile, smiling.

"What do you mean, 'kind of'." I asked him.

"Well, I try to come here when I can." he answered, pulling a branch out of my way.

"Thanks.. So you don't live _just_ in Brainerd, then?" I asked him.

"No. I live in other places as well." he stated.

"Are you rich? Sheesh.." I sighed. Then I realized how rude that may have come out and blushed scarlet.

"No. I'm definitely not rich." he smiled.

"Oh.. Well, your home must be nearby if you walked here.. Right?" I asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

"It might be." he said, unsure.

I was about to ask him if he had been drinking, since he couldn't remember much, but it dawned on me I had never introduced myself.

"My name is Azura, in case you were wondering." I said, blushing.

He smiled, and nodded, looking off to his right. I waited for him to say his name, but he never did.

"What's your name?" I asked. I felt stupid trying to talk to him, since he clearly didn't want to talk to me.

"I'm.. Jack." he said.

A smile played at my lips, and I almost wanted to laugh.

"Your last name isn't Frost, is it?" I joked, more hopeful than anything else. He looked over at me and laughed, a wide grin spreading across his face. I blushed scarlet, thinking how stupid that joke must have sounded.

We kept walking until we reached the clearing that ran alongside my house.

"Did you want me to show you which way the town is, or do you think you have it from here?" I asked.

He paused a second, looking down. He seemed to be thinking about something.

"I think I know where to go now." he said, smiling sadly. His eyes started to gloss over. I felt bad, thinking maybe he was lonely, and still wanted to talk.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"I'm sure," he smiled. "But hopefully I'll see you again sometime."

"That would be nice. I just moved here, so I don't really know anyone around here." I explained, laughing.

"I'm sure you'll meet others like yourself, sooner or later." he smiled.

"Yeah.. Maybe." I frowned.

He made me feel like he didn't want to be in the same class as me, let alone be seen with me. And unfortunately, he was kind of cute.. Well, really cute. I really, really wanted him to like me. It seemed hard to be rude to him now.

"See you later, then." he smiled, walking away.

"Yeah, hopefully.. Bye, Jack!" I smiled, walking up my porch step.

I was about to turn the doorknob, when something inside me told me to turn around and not let this guy leave. Unfortunately, when I did, he wasn't there anymore. He must have run off. I opened the door and walked in, setting my cold coffee cup onto a side table and walking back to my room. I decided to spend the rest of the afternoon online, chatting with my friends back in California. I wanted to tell them everything that was happening, how strange it was living here, but I couldn't. I almost knew that if I told them, they would have thought I was crazy, and strangely enough, I wouldn't be able to believe them. Instead, I told them how crummy life was here, and that I really missed them dearly. After I turned my computer off, and ate dinner with my parents, I crawled into bed and began to cry. I missed my friends, but I was missing something more. Something that was never really there in my life. I have never really had a real boyfriend, and it just dawned on me how much of a gap it's left in my heart.


	11. Chapter 2 Part 3

**Chapter 2 : Dreams Unwind**

**Part 3**

_**Azura**_

I couldn't function right. I felt like I didn't even know how to cry correctly. Tears kept rolling down, making my eyesight blurry, but I didn't _feel _sad. I felt disappointed and lonely, but not bad enough to shed tears over. And yet here I am, crying over loneliness. I clawed at my forehead, trying to force everything out, shaking my head as I did so. I needed to let everything out, but how? I instantly pulled the covers off me and ran to my closet. There were still boxes and boxes of things I hadn't unpacked yet. I grabbed the one labeled "personal things" and set it on the floor. Sitting down, I rummaged through the box until I found my most recent journal. I still had a good amount of bare pages left, so I took it and crawled back into bed. I had to wipe the tears away to look for a pen, but eventually found one in my night stand. I opened the journal to the last page I had written in, and began to write a new entry. Even though the only light I used was that of the moonlight coming through my window, I could see fairly well what I was writing.

...

_**November 22nd 2008.**_

_**Dear diary,**_

_**I haven't written in ages, and I'm really really sorry. I would say it's because I'm busy, but I'm not. I just haven't been in the mood for it. I want to go back home, I feel so alone right now. Early this morning, around 10 or 11, I took a walk in the woods and met this guy. Eh.. He looked about mid or late-20s. At first I was a bit nervous. He was on our property, I was sure, so I thought he was some crazed lunatic.. I seriously thought I was going to get kidnapped. He was very odd, and at some points he came off rude, but he was very attractive. I doubt I'll see him again.. He had the prettiest eyes I had ever seen, though. They were the color you would use as a child to paint the sky. A bright, light color that outshines everything. His name was Jack.. I don't remember if he told me his last name or not.**_

_**Love, Azura.**_

...

I dreamt I was running down the street, the cold pavement hitting me painfully at each step. I was barefoot, and in my night clothes. I was running after a silhouette way ahead of me. I tried screaming, telling them to wait for me. Immediately, my mind told me it was Jack, the man I had just met this morning. Soon enough, the silhouette's pace slowed, and I was able to catch up closer to him. At about ten feet away, I began to reach out my arms, frantically telling him to stop. All I could see was a black outline. By now, he had stopped completely. He turned around, and to my surprise, I realized it was not the man I thought it was. This man looked completely different. He had black hair that cascaded to the middle of his back, and he was wearing a long black cloak. He was terrifying. I let out a sharp scream, in fear. There was only one fictional character I could think of when I saw this man. He looked just like Dracula. Or at least how I always imagined him.

"Do not be frightened", he told me, smiling, "I'm a good person."

I couldn't move, all I could say was, "Who are you?"

"It doesn't matter," he grinned, coming towards me, "I want to show you something."

"What?" I asked, feeling threatened for my life.

He reached out a hand towards my back, and proceeded to walk me down the street. He kept smiling the whole time. I looked around to see if I knew exactly where he was taking me, but I was beginning to get lost. Up ahead, I saw a door that was in the middle of a road. It was laying against the pavement, the doorknob had been taken off. When we reached the door, he bent over, and began to pick up one side. It was an opening, with a dark staircase fading into more darkness.

I started to feel discomfort, thinking he was going to push me in. Thankfully, all he did was smile, and drop the half of the door he was holding, completely opening it. He brought his hand out again for me to hold on to. All I could do was shake my head and decline.

"If you want to know everything you've been asking yourself, come with me now." he said, more demanding now.

My body willingly followed, my mind, however, was unwilling. I kept thinking how I would never come back out.

"What will happen to me?" I asked, as I took his hand.

"Just come." he said, stepping onto the first step.

We started walking down the stairs, I could feel the light fading from behind. I was worried I would never see my parents again. Of all people to be worried for, I was thinking of my parents. They never even seem to worry about _me_. It felt like hours, walking down the steps, until we finally landed onto a flat area in an unfamiliar room. The room was dank and smelled of mildew. It chilled me right to the bone. It was lit with what looked with torches built into the walls. There were many, many doors leading to God knows what in the room, and I didn't exactly want to find out.

"Where are we?" I asked him.

"In my lair." he answered.

"Your.. Are you gonna kill me?" I asked him, getting worried. Tears started to roll down my cheeks.

"No," he started, "I want to show you something, though."

"What?" I asked impatiently.

"Come here." he said, waving a hand and walking towards a door on the opposite side we had come from. The door was black, and had silver swirls that began from the middle and spun out until it reached the ends.

"Where are we going?" I asked nervously, as he reached for the doorknob.

"I told you. If you want to know the answers, just follow me." he said, turning the knob.

"Not until you tell me who you are." I said, getting goose-bumps. I didn't want to follow him.

He sighed, letting go of the doorknob, and slouching against it. "My name is Phobetor."

"Who?!" I asked, completely confused. I had never heard a name like that before.

"You don't know me, so it doesn't matter."

"And that's going to help me? You actually think I'll follow a stranger into God-knows-where?" I asked him, throwing my hands up in frustration. I was starting to fear for my life again.

"Azura-"

"How do you know my name?" I demanded.

"Let me finish," he stated, pausing a second. "Azura, I know you, but you do not know me. I know you because I am the one that gives you nightmares-"

"Well, it's working." I interrupted.

"Do _not _interrupt me." he growled.

"Sorry." I apologized, terrified. I was mouthing off, when my life could be in danger. This was just the very thing I snapped at while watching movies, every time the damsel in distress decided to be cocky towards her captor. I closed my lips tight, trying to urge myself to only listen.

"I am the god of nightmares." he explained, a bit more testy now.

"I'm dreaming?" I asked him.

"Are you not surprised about the way we got down here? The entrance?" he smiled evilly.

"Oh. Yeah, I forgot.." I said, remembering the doorway that came out from the top of the street, "So.. Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you asked me. Now, will you follow me, or not?" he asked, turning around again and reaching for the door.

"I suppose, since I'm dreaming, it won't hurt. Right?" I asked him, walking a few steps closer.

"I promise I will not harm you." he said, smiling and opening the black door.

I was walking forward, when I saw what he had expected me to step into. It entered into a wide field, the sky a bright violet color. He stepped into the field, and I followed behind. The minute I exited, the door vanished.

"I don't remember asking anything about this..." I mumbled to myself.

"It's coming." he said, also to himself. We seemed to be in different worlds, yet standing a foot away from each other.

"What's coming?" I asked him.

He pointed up into the sky. I looked up, and saw a huge meteorite coming straight towards us.

"I didn't ask for this. Take me back, now!" I screamed, crying hysterically, "You said nothing would happen to me!"

"I said I wouldn't harm you. You won't feel anything." he assured.

I looked up, and it was about to hit us. I couldn't keep my eyes off of it. It impacted about ten miles away, and I saw fire stretching out from where it had hit. It was coming straight for us.

"No!" I cried out, grabbing his arm, pleading for him to take me back home.

"Azura. When it hits, you'll know everything. I have to go, but I promise you will wake up and be unharmed." he said, fading away like a ghost.

"Oh, my God!" I cried, looking back at the fire that was only seconds away now. I started to feel warmer as each second passed. As it hit me, I felt a surge of electric warmth. It didn't hurt, like he had said. It gave me serenity, in fact. I started to burn, but a cold hand touched my face.

"Azura." I heard in a low tone.

I searched for a face in fire that had completely surrounded me, drowning me in flames. I knew that voice, even if I had only heard it for the first time today.

"Jack?" I called.

I felt another cold hand reach out to my right hand. The coldness started to spread throughout my body, starting at my cheek and hand. I still couldn't see him. I heard a loud blast from where the meteorite had hit, and it awoke me. My eyes opened immediately, and focused onto my window, which had been completely frosted in what looked like many different sizes of butterflies. I had a strange feeling that someone was outside my window, so I crawled over to it and opened the window. I shimmied myself a ways out so that I could look around outside. I felt a cool breeze blow onto me. I looked towards the left of the window and saw Jack walking away.


	12. Chapter 2 Part 4

**Chapter 2 : Dreams Unwind**

**Part 4**

_**Azura**_

"Jack!" I called.

He turned, eyes widened.

"Um.. Azura?" he said, confused.

"What are you doing?" I asked him, as he walked back over to the window.

He didn't respond until he reached me.

"I don't understand.. How can you see me?" he asked me. He seemed to be speaking in a whisper, as if he was hiding from someone.

"What do you mean?" I asked, smiling. At this point I knew he just had to be Jack Frost.

He smiled shyly and put his hands into his pockets.

"I mean.. You.. You shouldn't be able to see me." he told me, smiling a sad smile.

"I asked you a question this morning, and you never really answered it." I told him, pushing a drape away that had fallen beside me.

"What question?" he smiled.

"Well.." I started innocently, picking at the wood on the frame of my window, "I asked you about your name."

"I thought I told you." he smiled coyly.

"Yeah, but I asked you something else.." I pressed on, not able to look at him.

"I thought you were joking." he smiled nervously.

"Well.. What if I wasn't?" I asked him, finally looking at him. He was looking at me intently, and smiled.

"Azura," he said my name beautifully, "I don't know why you are able to see me, seeing as I actually am who you think I might be."

My heart skipped a beat, and I could help but smile.

"So you_ are_ the one that has been writing, and drawing, on my windows?" I asked excitedly.

"Yes. I am." he smiled shyly.

"How? I mean.. I never believed in actual.. What are you, anyway? A human?" I asked him, completely bewildered.

"The proper term is 'personification'," he said, "I am a personification. There are many, many others like me."

"More Jack Frosts?" I asked, still confused.

"No. I'm the only Jack Frost," he smiled, "I meant that there are other personifications.. Chronos, Death, Morpheus, The Tooth Fairy.."

"Is Santa real?" I laughed, unable to comprehend the seriousness of what he was saying.

"No.. Not anymore."

"What do you mean? What happened to him?" I asked, extremely interested.

"Well, he got a little bit gracious in his gifts, and showed himself in public.. He disappeared, from what I heard." he answered.

"Disappeared?!" I exclaimed, "How?"

"Nobody really knows.. He just vanished.. Not even Chronos could find him. We all figured that he faded away from existence because people stopped believing in him after they saw him. They thought he was human, like them, and their beliefs of him being human left him vulnerable.. It 'killed' him, in a way." he explained, setting his hand against one side of the window. It turned all he had touched to ice.

"Wow.." I said in awe.

He smiled.

"What time is it for you?" he asked me.

I looked back inside my house, the darkness surprisingly blinding me for a moment. I searched around for my alarm clock.

"It's 2:12 AM." I stated.

"I should probably let you get some more sleep, Azura." he said.

"I'm fine.." I said, attempting to stifle a yawn that fatefully wanted to spring up at the worst time.

"You really need your rest." he said, taking his hand off the window.

"I'm not sick, though. I don't _need_ rest." I complained.

"I have to get going, though.. I'm not really supposed to be seen by humans." he told me.

"Will I see you again?" I asked. I felt myself pleading with him, but I didn't care.

"To be honest, I hope so. I don't really know.." he smiled sadly.

"Well.. I guess I'll see you, hopefully, tomorrow." I said, mirroring his sad smile. I reached a hand out to shake his, but he didn't reach for mine.

"I don't know if I'll hurt you.. I don't want to do something to you.. You know, I don't want to take the chance." he shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets, and smiling.

"Will you be here tomorrow night?" I asked him.

"I always am.." he singed, laughing.

"Okay.. Goodbye, then, Jack.. And thanks for the butterflies." I said, holding back a smile.

"You're getting butterflies?" he smiled, wrinkling his eyebrows.

"I meant the window.." I laughed, pointing at his drawing on my window.

"Oh. Right. You're very welcome." he said, scratching at his chin in embarrassment, "I'll be here tomorrow, then."

"And I'll be here, too." I answered, a feeling of stupidity settling in me from what I had just said, so I added, "Like always."

"Alright. Goodnight, Azura." he said, walking backwards a few steps, then finally turning around and walking forwards.

"Goodnight, Jack Frost." I breathed. I hesitantly pulled my window shut and turned on the lamp on my night stand. I crawled over to the side of my bed and reached under for my journal. I grabbed a pen and instantly started spilling out all of my thoughts onto the next empty page.

...

_**November 23rd 2008**_

_**Dear diary,**_

_**Remember that Jack I was talking about? c Well, you wouldn't believe me, but.. Eh.. You wouldn't believe me. And quite frankly, putting it on paper would seriously make me feel even more like a crazy person. Either way, I think I might be getting feelings for this guy. I'm crossing this out because I can't be sure I'm the only one reading this anymore. You never know. There might be a 'god of journals' or something that is reading what I'm writing, which is not cool. I hope I see Jack again, though. Jack, whose last name just so happens to be Frost. **_

_**Love, Azura.**_


	13. Chapter 2 Part 5

**Chapter 2 : Dreams Unwind**

**Part 5**

_**Jack**_

The shock of meeting Azura made me unable to do any work, but I noticed I was barely getting anything done, and I didn't want Chronos to find out about Azura. I did my task at my normal pace and tried my best not to look nervous when I was back to her window for the next night. As soon as I reached the window, I noticed it was completely open. I looked inside, and saw Azura laying in bed, her eyes open, looking out the window. She smiled when she saw me.

"Hi!" she smiled, sitting up.

"Hi, Azura." I responded.

"How was your day?" she asked me sweetly.

"Good, I went around the world and did my thing." I told her, laughing at what I had said.

"Yeah? I didn't really do much.. I stayed in all day." she said, she smiled.

"Don't you have school or something?" I asked her, unsure how school systems worked.

"I do.. Just not until next semester, which is next month practically.." she explained, "I'd start now, but school is soon going to be on Christmas break, so my parents figured it'd be pointless to start now with a week or so of school and then a break coming up."

"Ah.. I forgot about school holidays." I smiled, "I hope you're still in the spirit of the holiday, even though Santa Claus doesn't exist anymore?"

"Well.. I never really believed he existed.. Not many people do. It's more of a children's belief. But I have always been in good spirits during Christmas, so I don't see why not this one." she explained.

"That's good, at least." I responded, remembering why I was here again, "Oh, what would you like on your window tonight?"

"Hmm.. Surprise me!" she laughed.

I couldn't think of anything to say to her. I didn't want to leave, but the awkwardness of it all almost made me want to run for it.

"Did you want me to do it now?" I asked her.

"Would you be leaving after you're done?" she asked me back.

I smiled, "Not if you don't want me to."

"Okay.. Well, I don't want you to leave just yet." she admitted.

My heart swelled, and I wanted to kiss her.

"Okay. I won't." I said, leaning against the ledge of her window. What do men talk about to women? I couldn't think of anything to say to her. I just wanted to look at her, and wonder if she felt the same way.

"Jack.." Azura said, crawling closer to the window, "I keep wondering if I'm going crazy, if you're just a hallucination. You're not, are you?"

"Not that I know of, no." I smiled. I also had wondered at first if maybe she was a hallucination of my own mind. A type of oasis from my loneliness.

"Okay." she breathed.

Again, more silence. I felt awkward in my stance. I wasn't sure if leaning against her window might make her think I was trying to make an advance. I decided to stand upright again.

"Jack, I have another question." she said.

"Yes?" I answered, raising my eyebrows.

"You said that Santa showed himself to everyone, and that he disappeared.. That won't happen to you, will it?" she asked me, looking a little hurt.

"I don't really know. I really hope not. I suppose, as long as you weren't to tell anyone, it shouldn't be a big deal.." I answered, feeling a little unsure.

"But I believe in you.. I mean," she smiled, "I know that you're Jack Frost, and that you are not human. If I believe in you, nothing can happen to you, right?"

"Chronos thinks that if we show ourselves to anyone, even one person, it could destroy us. So I'm a bit unsure.." I replied truthfully.

"But it's not like I don't doubt your existence.." she told me.

"Maybe belief needs doubt in order for it to be real.." I gulped, "I don't really know."

I felt weird talking about existence. I was afraid any minute I could fade away. I saw her yawn, and remembered that I hadn't frosted her window yet.

"You're getting tired," I smiled, "I think now would be a good time to talk about what you'd like me to paint for you."

She frowned, and crawled even closer to the window.

"I don't think I'm that tired.." she complained.

"We can still talk about things you like, though.." I said, trying to change the subject about existence. I've existed for so long, I didn't exactly want to find out what dying was like.

"What kinds of things?" she asked me.

"Anything.. Tell me about yourself." I answered, deciding to lean up against the window again.


	14. Chapter 2 Part 6

**Chapter 2 : Dreams Unwind**

**Part 6**

_**Jack**_

"Well.. My full name is Azura Katherine Flint. I was born in California-" Azura began.

"So that's why I've never seen you before since this winter." I grinned.

"Yeah, maybe.. Or maybe I'm just the kind of face you could forget." she laughed,

"Anyway, I was born in California.. I don't have any brothers or sisters, which kind of sucks, but I do get better Christmas presents than my friends. So I guess that's a good enough deal."

"Would you rather have siblings?" I asked her.

"To be honest, yes. I'm sure every only child would want someone to share the torture of parents with." she smiled.

"You don't like your parents, then?" I asked her. I felt like I was interviewing her, but I wanted to know everything about her.

"They're good people, but I can't wait to get out of the house. My mom tries too hard to be perfect, and my dad is rarely home to even consider himself a parent." she told me.

"What's your favorite animal?" I asked her, seeing she felt uncomfortable with what she was telling me. I pulled her window halfway down.

"Hmm.. I'm very fond of bunnies." she admitted.

"Bunnies? Okay.." I smiled, blowing a gust of ice onto the windowpane. I waved my hand towards a corner of the window, guiding the ice until it made shapes of three bunnies. I glanced over at Azura, and saw her watching my work in awe.

"That's so pretty.." she sighed, smiling brightly.

"What else?" I asked her, after finishing, "Well.. I'd ask you what your favorite color is, but I can really only work with one shade.."

"Well, if you were curious, it's green.. A bright blue-green, like the sea." she explained.

"Good choice." I smiled.

"What about you, Jack? What's your favorite animal and color?" she asked me, poking her head out of the window to see my face.

"My favorite animal.." I thought, looking to my right and smiling, "I love dogs. I always wanted to have one."

"Dogs?" she smiled, resting her chin in her hands.

"Yeah.." I smiled shyly, "And my favorite color is probably black. I'm starting to get sick of white all the time."

"Now you're getting sick of white? And after only how many centuries.. What took so long?" she laughed.

"Well, I suppose I'm just a strange guy.." I said. She laughed again.

I had an urge to stop time. I wanted to kiss her badly, but yet I wanted her to kiss me back. I also didn't know if touching her would be harmful.

"I can't really think of anything else.. Why don't you make something you like?" she smiled sweetly.

"Umm.. Okay. Hold on, let me think of something.." I told her, trying to picture anything but her.

I stood for what seemed hours, and it might have been, but she didn't complain.

"Well, honestly, ever since I was created, I wanted to be human." I admitted, "But I don't want to draw humans.. I suppose I'm just a lonely guy."

I tried to smile, but it felt painful.

"What would you do if you were human?" she asked me, smiling sadly.

"I've been.. here for a long time, and it puts a strain on my heart when I see couples in love." I said, almost in a whisper.

"There aren't any others out there like yourself that you pine for?" she smiled sadly, her eyes intent.

"There were a few females that I've tried to be with, but it never worked out. We were both always busy, and they were always complaining." I told her, feeling uncomfortable.

"About what?" she asked, a bit hurtful.

"Well.." I smiled, "They said my hands were like ice, which is probably true."

"If they cared enough, wouldn't that not have mattered? Besides, couldn't they deal with it, since they aren't human? It shouldn't harm them.." she protested.

"Well.. It must be different for us.. We can't feel physical things, but we can feel everything emotionally. So, umm.. These girls didn't complain about the cold, more like.." I couldn't think straight, "My cold touch was making them unhappy. They felt sad and sometimes angry when I was around."

"How come it doesn't work on me?" she asked.

"I'm not sure.. Maybe because you can feel everything physically." I guessed.

"Oh.. Duh, that makes sense." she laughed.

We stared at each other for a few seconds, smiling.

"Geez.. I've been keeping you up way too long, Azura." I said, "If you want to know what I desire most, I suppose now would be the right time to show you."

I saw her frown at first, and then perk up. I put my hand up towards her, blocking her. I then blew frost onto the rest of the window, painting various shapes of hearts all over her window. I saw her smile, and look down at the floor of her bedroom. When I finished, I put my hands down and smiled sadly.

"So you want love, huh?" she asked, her eyes glossing over.

"Now more than ever." I replied, putting my hands into my pockets. I didn't know what to do with them, they kept wanting to fidget. Then I realized why. I was feeling the same way I had seen others feel. I wanted to hold her hands badly. "But anyway, I should probably get going. You need your sleep."

"Will you.. You will be back tomorrow, right?" she asked, pulling her window up all the way to see me easier.

"I promise." I smiled.

"Okay.. I'll see you later, then, Jack." she sighed, smiling.

"Goodbye, Azura. And sweet dreams." I whispered, starting to walk away.

"Goodbye, Jack!" she called, as I began to walk off.

I didn't want to leave, but I had a feeling I'd keep her up all night if I stayed any longer.


	15. Chapter 3 Part 1

**Chapter 3 : Drowning In The Sea Of Love**

**Part 1**

_**Jack**_

I couldn't think straight, mainly ever since I saw Azura to begin with, but especially now that _she_ can see _me_. I couldn't tell anyone about her, and I had to make sure I spoke with Phobetor and Phantasos, and tell them to keep it quiet. As soon as I left Azura's, I traveled everywhere, searching for one of them. It seemed to take forever until I found one of them, Phobetor, the nightmare bringer. He was heading up a hill towards a broken-down, faded white house.

"Phobetor!" I shouted, running after him. He turned and looked over at me. He started walking in my direction at a slow pace.

"Need something, Jack?" Phobetor asked me, keeping his eyes on a lake that was at the bottom of the hill.

"Yeah.. It's about that girl, Azura." I started to tell him.

He smiled, "Did something happen?"

"Umm.. Well, yeah. That's what I wanted to talk to you about." I said.

"What happened?" he asked, still scanning the lake suspiciously. I looked over at the lake, and saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"What the hell are you looking at, Phobetor?" I asked him anxiously, I was starting to worry that someone was listening in.

"Nothing," he said, looking back at me, "What is it?"

"Well.. She _saw_ me! She actually _saw _me!" I exclaimed.

Phobetor smirked, watching my enjoyment. I tried to calm myself down.

"She did?" he said, taking another quick glance at the lake.

"Yes," I stated sharply, getting annoyed by his persistent stares at the lake, "Are you even listening? A _human _saw me. This is a bit of a problem, for all of us."

"Be quiet," he demanded, staring at me a second, and then back to the lake.

"What is it? What do you see?!" I asked him, turning my whole body towards the lake.

"I don't know. I keep seeing something glistening in the lake, bobbing up once in awhile." he said, walking towards the lake. I followed him, taking careful strides in the snow.

"What do you think it is?" I asked him, still trying to see what he was seeing.

"I can't tell." he said, as we reached the edge of the lake.

We surveyed the area, looking around the banks and squinting out towards the lake for any movements. Nothing seemed to move anymore. I still couldn't see what he seemed to have seen, but it didn't appear anymore.

"I saw it over there." he pointed, angling his index finger off more to the right, out into the deeper part of the lake.

"I don't.." I began, but the lake began to ripple.

"There, there!" he shouted as quietly as possible, pointing at the object that began to rise from the water.

It was a head, slowly followed by a body. The body was fully clothed, but the clothes were barely staying on. It appeared to be a boy in his teenage years. What was more strange, was the fact that its skin was that of an ugly green color. It resembled something that I had seen a few centuries ago..

"It's a Vodnik!" I exclaimed.

I was shocked. Rarely ever does anyone see a Vodnik. These beings, these Vodniks, were humans at one time. These were real men and women that were dragged into lakes, ponds and even oceans. They were instantly killed, drowned, and turned into the same beings that had killed them. It all started from a personification from Russia, whose name was Vodnik. He's one of the only personifications that could actually touch humans.

"I've never seen one before.." Phobetor whispered in awe.

"Can they see us? I've only seen one other, and I was hiding at the time I had seen him." I asked him.

"He's looking straight at us! You think?" Phobetor laughed, terrified.

The Vodnik started walking towards us, almost prowling. He stared straight at us, almost hypnotized. Once he got within a few feet away, he stopped, unblinking.

"What do you want?" Phobetor asked him.

The Vodnik kept staring, but not at Phobetor. He was staring at me.

"If you won't speak to us, then move on," Phobetor continued, waving his hand in the direction of the lake.

The Vodnik finally turned his gaze onto Phobetor. I huddled in closer to Phobetor and whispered, "I don't trust this guy.. Something is definitely wrong."

Phobetor raised his hand again, to stop me.

"What is it?" he demanded from the Vodnik.

The Vodnik opened his mouth, and began pouring out.

"Maybe he was just turned into a Vodnik?" I suggested to Phobetor.

When the water lessened, the Vodnik began to move his lips, but all we could hear was gargling.

"We do not understand," Phobetor told him.

Once the water had escaped, he was more audible and started his speech over.

"My clan heard that this man you are standing next to was seen with a human." he stated, his eyes still unblinking.

I turned red, glaring at the Vodnik. Phobetor crossed his arms and continued staring at the man.

"What is your point?" he asked.

"My point is that it is unacceptable. Father Time told us never to associate with any humans, unless it is part of the belief." he said.

"Well, he's allowing Jack to, just this once." Phobetor lied.

"Is this true?" the Vodnik asked, turning back to me. His breath smelled like death.

"Well.. Yeah." I lied, knitting my eyebrows and looking away.

"I do not believe either of you." the Vodnik stated.

"I'm not surprised." Phobetor replied, rolling his eyes.

"Listen. This man here.. He is jeopardizing us out of existence with his carelessness." the Vodnik argued.

"Carelessness?!" I exclaimed, feeling heat on my neck.

"If Jack was not allowed to see this human," Phobetor interrupted, "Then why is nature allowing him to?"

I began to feel a bit more calm, realizing that Phobetor was right. If I wasn't supposed to see her, why was she allowed to see _me_?

"But look what happened to Father Christmas." the Vodnik complained.

Phobetor laughed, "We don't know what happened to him! For all we know, he could be hiding out!"

The Vodnik turned back to me, finally forcing himself to blink.

"Listen. I'm not only speaking for myself, or my clan. I'm speaking for you as well. If you want to exist forever, you mustn't see this girl anymore. If you continue, though, we will go to Father Time and let him know," he said, "I have to go back now before the rest of the Vodniki notice me gone, but please, quit associating with this human."

The Vodnik slowly turned around and crept back to the lake silently. When he completely vanished, I turned to Phobetor. I couldn't think of anything to say to him, I just stared at him. How would I be able to stop seeing Azura? I could feel the tears starting to build up.


	16. Chapter 3 Part 2

**Chapter 3 : Drowning In The Sea Of Love**

**Part 2**

_**Jack**_

"Jack," Phobetor turned towards me, "Don't listen to the kid. He doesn't understand."

"_I_ don't even understand," I began, "I never asked anyone to let her see me. It just happened.."

"Don't worry about it," he assured me, patting my back with his hand, "Don't let this get to you so much. First you need to find out for yourself if she's worth it all."

"Worth what?" I asked.

"That's a good question.. Nonexistence? Or maybe not.. Maybe Father Time was wrong. Maybe if humans see us, we still stay intact," he guessed.

"Do you really believe Father Christmas still exists?" I asked him, turning away from the lake. I felt like I was still being watched.

"I believe that we should never leave that option out," he smiled.

"Azura asked me about him.. I didn't really know what to tell her, since Chronos kept lot of the details out," I explained.

"Are you still planning on seeing this girl?" he asked, knitting his eyebrows in interest.

"Well, I really want to.. But I don't want to jeopardize her, either. I know that some personifications work on their own terms, and they can get violent," I said, glancing back towards the lake.

"I would keep seeing her, at least until Father Time says not to," Phobetor suggested.

"You think so?" I asked, taking a deep breath.

"Only if you want to, though," he shrugged.

"I still don't understand how on earth she can see me," I raised my eyebrows, looking down at the ground in front of me.

"Maybe she believed you really were real?" he smiled, shrugging, "Anyway, I need to get going, too. I have work that needs to be done."

"Well, before you go.. _Please_ don't tell _anyone _about this. I know that the Vodniki know somehow, but try to keep this quiet.." I begged.

"I will. I barely talk to anyone, except my brothers and you, and occasionally Father Time anyway," he said.

"Do they know?" I asked, more worried about Chronos than anyone else.

"Morpheus doesn't know, but Phantasos does. It's hard not to, since he's giving her the fantasies she dreams.. He knew about it long before I did, actually," he smiled, "But he won't tell anyone..."

He paused.

"And?" I asked, waving my hand in circles, waiting for him to tell me if Chronos knew about it or not.

"Father Time knows nothing about it, yet." he replied.

"What does _that_ mean?" I asked him.

"We don't plan on telling anyone else, but I cannot vouch for the Vodniki or whomever it was that told them," he explained.

"Damn.. I forgot about that.. I wonder who else knows?" I asked, scratching my chin.

"I don't know.. It could be anyone," he said, kicking a bit of soil with his boot and glaring at the house he was walking to before I showed up.

"Yeah.. True," I replied, "Anyway, you probably need to get going, right?"

"Yes, I do."

"Okay.. Umm.. Thanks," I smiled, "For keeping this all quiet."

"No problem. See you later." he said, walking away.

I needed to get back to work as well, I had been slacking off a lot lately. Since Azura was still sleeping, now would be the perfect time.


	17. Chapter 3 Part 3

**Chapter 3 : Drowning In The Sea Of Love**

**Part 3**

_**Azura**_

It didn't take as long for me to fall asleep tonight. I must have used all my energy with Jack when we were talking. I was so excited and so fascinated by him, that after he left I immediately felt tired. I couldn't even write in my journal. I tried, but my eyes kept drooping down and I kept nodding off. Tonight I dreamt a lot differently, though. I began by walking down a trail that was in between two wooded areas. Bright-colored leaves were falling gently down. I could feel the sun on me. It was warm, but not too warm. I kept walking down the trail, wondering where it led me to.

I saw an object come into view, and when I got closer, I noticed it was a tricycle. It was brown and rusty. It was mine, from when I was a child. I wanted to take it with me, since I hadn't seen it in years. I tried to pick it up, but it was too heavy. I began to feel frustrated, and kept walking down the trail, glancing back at it once in awhile until it was out of sight.

I found yet another object laying on the ground a few feet away from me. It was a book. After looking inside, I found out it was my journal from when I was younger. I decided to take this with me, since I had lost it in a fire a few years ago, but as I shut it, it crumbled to dust. This very much angered me. I was starting to turn red, and on the verge of tears. I kept walking, and sure enough, another object appeared in the trail ahead of me. As I walked closer I noticed it was my dog Stanley. I had him since I was 11 and just recently had to give him away when we moved. I walked slower towards him, hoping he wouldn't disappear into dust as well. When I reached him, his tongue lolled out like he was happy. Weepy-eyed, I smiled and reached out for him. I hugged him for the longest time, and finally let go. He licked my cheek and I laughed. I was about to hug him again, but he darted off further down the trail. I stood up, hesitating to run after.

I decided to run after him. I could barely keep up - barely _see _him - but I ran after anyway. I was starting to lose my breath when he slowed down and looked back at me. I strode over to him and found him pawing at something on the ground. It was like a tiny pool. It was the size of a school desk, and it was filled with a bluish-green water. I knelt down beside Stanley and patted him. He started whimpering and pacing back and forth beside me and the tiny pool. I dipped my index finger in the water, for boredom's sake, and when the ripples began, I noticed an object in the water. It was blurred, and just the shape was recognizable. I peered closer. I couldn't quite tell what it was. I played with the ripples, making them turn one way, then the other. I was nervous, thinking maybe there was something in the water that would make me not want my fingers in it.

Unexpectedly, Stanley howled in a high pitch. I looked over at him, and noticed he was farther away from me. He bolted over to me and I threw my hands up, worried he would strike me too hard. I whirled my head away and squinted my eyes, waiting for it.

Then I heard a splash. Stanley had jumped into the tiny pool. I waited a few seconds.. I expected him to bob back up to the surface, but he didn't. From nowhere, an instinct washed over me that this was most definitely a dream. Duh. It sure took me long enough. I decided to dunk my head into the water, thinking maybe there was a new realm he entered through the pool.

I plugged my nose and crouched down towards the water. Careful not to fall in, I leaned in closer to go underwater. As I began to submerge, I saw Stanley, not quite within my grasp. I leaned in closer, holding onto the edge for dear life. I tried to grab for his back leg, and just barely grabbed fur. He yelped underwater, and kicked my hand away. I leaned in even closer, and let go of the edge, using only my legs as a grip.

This time I did grab something, but it wasn't Stanley. It felt like another ledge. I didn't expect it, so I yanked on it, thinking at first that it was my dog. It sounds crazy, but it was only a dream, and you think some pretty ridiculous things when you dream. When I tried to pull it back towards me, still thinking in my head it was my dog, it pulled _me_ in. I could just imagine how dumb I must have looked outside the pool, with my legs going up into the air and then sinking in. I felt a coolness in the water touching my face as I fell further down.

I started to panic. I needed air. If I didn't get air soon, I'd really regret this. I started crying underwater, and it made it even worse when I thought that crying was only going to make more water and more of a length to get to air. It reminded me of Alice In Wonderland. Suddenly my hand hit something. It wasn't terribly hard, but it was unexpected and a little painful. It was colder than the rest of the water. It felt like a giant ice cube. Whatever it was, I gently tried to feel for again. I reached further and waved my hand in circles. Finally after what felt like minutes, I touched it again and felt a shiver go up my spine from the cold impact. It felt like it was covered with something, though. As I grabbed for it, and squeezed it closer, my eyes began to hurt. I forced my eyes to close. I thought I was inches from death. I felt I was so close I could touch it. I threw my eyes open one last time and I was in a different surrounding.

I was leaning out of my bedroom window and I had a tight grip on Jack's coat. I immediately let go and blushed.


	18. Chapter 3 Part 4

**Chapter 3 : Drowning In The Sea Of Love**

**Part 4**

_**Azura**_

"Did you have a bad dream?" Jack laughed.

"Yes," I responded, my voice hoarse, "It was horrible."

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked me.

"I don't know.. It was nothing. I dreamt I was drowning, sort of." I explained.

"Ah.. I see."

We stared at each other for the longest time. All I could think of was that I had touched Jack, and nothing bad happened to me. I almost regretted letting go of him. Even if I looked like a lunatic, I wanted to pretend I was still asleep and still pulling him closer. Love makes you do crazy things.

Although I was daydreaming inside my head, I saw Jack angle his head in thought. He squinted his eyes and smiled, which made me blush. I felt like he could see what I was thinking. I cringed at the thought, and tried to imagine snakes, maggots and anything else that might keep me from thinking impure thoughts. Then I tried to think of something to say next, but he beat me to it.

"Azura.."

"Yes?" I replied, secretly enjoying the sound of my name coming from his lips.

"Why did you fall asleep with the window open?" he asked me.

I tried to think back to the time I started to fall asleep. I remembered thinking about Jack, and wishing he was next to me. Then I remembered opening the window, thinking that if he came back in the middle of the night, I might hear him and wake up.

"I don't remember." I lied poorly.

"You weren't doing it in an attempt to fend me off?" he asked, looking hurt.

"Why would I do that?" I asked him.

"I don't know.." he smiled, rubbing his eyes and looking away.

"Jack, I hate to break it to you, but I _really_ like you. I would never try to keep you from coming back!" I smiled, grabbing the ledge and pulling myself towards him. It was quite cold outside, but I was getting warmer every second.

"Really?" he asked, smiling and looking down.

"Who doesn't want to wake up and see a beautiful, artistic sight on their window every morning?" I asked, amazed.

"Well, I actually know of a f-"

"Okay, okay. At the very least, _I _appreciate it." I assured him.

"Okay." he smiled, walking closer. I could feel a cool breeze drifting along with him towards me.

"Jack." my voice trembled as I tried to think of something to say. He stopped within inches.

"Yeah?" he asked.

I froze. I wasn't prepared for this. I wasn't ready for him to kiss me.

"Are you okay?" he asked me.

I couldn't speak properly. I couldn't stop staring at his luscious lips. Even though my eyes were locked there, I could see him staring back at me, realizing now I wasn't quite gazing into his eyes anymore. He came even closer, and reached his hand up. He paused in midair for a second, and then rested it on the bottom of my window frame.

Dammit. I could have sworn he was reaching for me. He leaned his head forward, inches from me, and examined me.

"Eh?" I asked, drifting back to sanity.

"Are you alright?" he asked me again, looking concerned.

"I'm fine. I was just.. Um.. Thinking." I stammered.

"About what?" he asked.

I laughed and just as quickly regret it. He smiled and pulled his eyebrows down in curiosity.

"What were you thinking about?" he smiled wider.

"Umm," I thought hard, "I was thinking about that dream."

"Oh.." his eyes brightened, "You didn't really tell me the _whole_ dream, did you?"

"Well, I _was_ drowning, mostly. But in the beginning I wasn't. I was walking down this trail and I kept finding these things I had when I was younger.. Like.. A bicycle, a journal, and my dog." I tried to explain.

I hated myself. Why on earth did I use my dream as an excuse for thinking? Now I ruined my chances of any physical contact with him.

"Your dog?" he asked.

"Yeah, his name was Stanley." I told him, starting to feel a slight gloom settle over me. I really missed my dog.

"Stanley?" he smiled.

"Yeah.. When we moved, I had to give him away." I frowned.

His smile disappeared, and mimicked my frown.

"I'm sorry." he said, looking down and raising his other hand above him to grip the window.

I don't know why, but his compassion brought tears to my eyes. I leaned in closer and I could feel his cool breath against mine. He looked up at me and I didn't even allow him a reaction. My lips searched for his in the moonlight. When we met, it felt as if my lips were brushing up against ice. I reached out and touched his face, his hair, and finally settled on the nape of his neck. I didn't want to stop, and I was pretty sure he didn't want to stop either, but after a few minutes, we took it slower. When our lips finally broke apart, I repeatedly kissed his cheek. Through all of this, I couldn't stop crying. Happy tears, mind you. I was so overjoyed that I finally found love.

"Please be real," I whispered to him when I found the time to stop kissing him, "Please be real, please be real.."

"I'm real," he whispered back, kissing my lips again. It sent a chilling surge through me that made my heart race.

He pulled away, and I seized him and brought him back closer to me.

"Wait, I haven't kissed the other side yet," I said in a daze, and turned his head a little so I could kiss his other cheek. He chuckled and kissed my cheek back. I grasped his neck gently with both hands and was bound and determined to either pull him in through the window, or crawl out and topple onto him. I tugged him closer, hoping for the former and not the latter. He pulled away, ruining my plan entirely.

"This is our first kiss, Sweetheart. Let's not sabotage it by making it less romantic.." he urged.

"Yeah, that's true.." I sighed, grabbing for him again. This time I hugged him. I felt a chill course through me, and it awoke all of my senses. I could _smell _the cold. It was the most stunning scent I had ever inhaled.

"Aren't you tired, Azura?" he asked, kissing my neck and sending another shiver down my spine.

I looked up at him and made the best sad-eyed puppy dog face I could. It didn't work, but he smiled for the attempt.

"I don't want you to go, Jack. It's not like I need the sleep, anyway. I have nothing to do tomorrow." I argued.

"You need your rest. Besides, the faster you fall asleep, the more time I'll get with you tomorrow." he reasoned.

"But I'll have nightmares without you here." I complained.

"I'll tell Phoebetor to stop for the night." he said, smiling. I knew he was going to win this argument. Dammit.

"Alright," I surrendered, reaching out to touch his cheek, "But can you stay here until I fall asleep?"

"As long as you promise you'll _try_." he smiled.

"I will." I promised.

I kissed him one last time, and then settled into my bed, looking back at him. He stared back at me and leaned against the window. I closed my eyes and thought about trying _not _to fall asleep, just so that he had to stay longer. I opened my eyes again, and he was still staring back at me.

"This is awkward," I began, "Have you ever tried falling asleep while someone is staring at you?"

"No."

"Well, neither have I, and it's quite distracting." I said.

"Sorry." he laughed, turning away and leaning his back against the window.

"Aw, crap. Just watch me. I need to know I can see your face when I open my eyes at least." I said, pulling the covers tighter.

"Yes, Ma'am." he said, turning back towards me.

I closed my eyes and finally felt a bit more relaxed. I stole a few more glances back at him and finally drifted back to sleep. I didn't dream at all this time. Either Jack made sure I didn't, or I just didn't remember when I woke up the next morning.

Waking up, I whirled around to face the window and noticed my newest note. It said:

"Meet me where we first met, same time"

I couldn't hide the smile that settled on my face even if I tried. I just had one concern, though. I forgot the time of day we met. I decided to check my journal, since I knew I wrote my first entry since I moved here when I first met him. When I found the entry, I saw that it was some time around 10 or 11 in the morning. I wish I had been more specific, but I decided on going at 10. The earlier, the better. I hadn't really written in my journal in a while, and I needed to explain the best night of my life so far, so that I could always remember it.

...

_**November 25th, 2008.**_

_**Dear diary,**_

_**Okay. So I've finally shared my first real kiss with someone. I say real, because spin the bottle and all those other childish games don't count. This is my first willing kiss. And like in the movies and books, it was truly magical. I didn't want it to stop. Am I going crazy? Arrgh! I just kissed Jack Frost. Well, not just. I did it last night. But anyway, Jack Frost. He's not supposed to exist, is he? Does he exist for me? Are we soul mates? I truly hope so.**_

_**Love, Azura.**_


	19. Chapter 3 Part 5

**Chapter 3 : Drowning In The Sea Of Love  
Part 5**

_**Jack**_

I've watched people when I felt like it. So I know how some act. I know that when something happens to you towards nighttime, and you fall asleep, that you awake alarmed. Your eyes widen and you worry, your mind racing.. I felt this ever since Azura kissed me. When she and I kissed, I slowed time as much as I could. I didn't want it to end. Slow-motion kisses are quite wonderful. Breath-taking. I never knew how amazing it is to be able to slow time until just then. I can take so many of my gifts for granted, I've realized.

I had plenty of things I needed to frost before I saw Azura, so I also stopped time for myself in order to catch up. I finally began to catch up with everything by the time I realized time was slowly ticking again on its own. I must have willed it to do so while I was finishing up a few things I had left. I rarely remember my last thought anymore since I've met Azura. It's almost as if her human nature was affecting me, making my mind forgetful. Time gradually went back to its normal speed, and I discovered it was close to the time Azura and I were supposed to meet. I was quite nervous. I didn't know if she would instinctively want to kiss me when we first see each other this morning. It was nerve-wracking for me.

Eventually I got to the same place we had met, right beside the fallen tree. I waited for awhile until I could hear her stomp over, be it gracefully, through the curtain of branches. Which, of course, over the past few days left it covered with more snow that fell on the two of us as she sidled through. She blushed, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Sorry."

"It's fine." I smiled widely.

She smiled and lowered her gaze to the frozen stream. Realization hit me, and I noticed she was just as nervous as I was. This made me even more nervous.

"How did you sleep last night?" I asked her casually, trying to clear my throat at the same time.

"Pretty good. I don't remember what I dreamt about, so I must not have had any nightmares, at least.." she smiled.

She walked around towards the stream and sat down on a boulder that was beside it, folding her arms and looking up at me. I walked over towards her. I wanted to impress her. I blew softly at the snow mound next to the boulder she was sitting on, and the mound of snow got firmer and bigger. When it seemed the same size as her boulder, I sat down.

"That was amazing." she sighed.

"Thank you." I smiled, looking into her eyes. We stared at each other for a few seconds, but she looked away.

I was losing confidence quite fast.

"Azura.. Maybe we should get to know each other." I said, tugging at her coat's fabric at her elbow.

She looked over and laughed, "That's a really good idea. Why don't you tell me about yourself."

"M-Myself?" I stuttered.

"Yeah! I talked a bit about myself the first few times we've talked to each other.. Tell me something about you. Something interesting.." she paused, "Like.. Do you have a middle name?"

I laughed and looked down, "No, I don't. Sadly."

"Well, if you ever had one, what would you want it to be?" she asked, leaning closer.

"For a middle name?"

"Yes."

"Hmm.." I smiled, resting my chin in my hand to really think about the question, "I don't really know! What do I look like to you?"

"Well.. You look very wise, but not old. You have been around for so long and you still seem.. New. Fresh.. I suppose something traditional, but still popular. Umm.. William?" she suggested, looking at me questioningly.

"Jack William Frost?" I laughed, nodding matter-of-factly.

"Yes!" she laughed, clapping her hands softly. She seemed so youthful right now. _So childlike._

We smiled, looking down at the snow that fell on the ground. It was a peaceful silence that we both didn't want to break. Azura rested her hand on the ground and lightly trailed a finger in the snow, making patterns. Hearts.. When she looked back up, she looked serious.

"Do you think I'll be able to see others like yourself?" she asked.

"I don't know.." I thought, "I don't even know how you started seeing _me_!"

Azura smiled shyly, grabbing my hand. I smiled back.

"The first morning I woke up here, I remember rolling over and seeing the window was completely frosted over. Something inside me just knew there had to be some sort of being that made that, because it was just too... beautiful to be natural." she shook her head in awe.

"There are many natural things that are quite _beautiful_, actually." I said, lifting my hand to caress her cheek.

Azura's eyes glazed over and she smiled sadly.

"What's wrong, Darling?" I asked her.

"It's all just so new... It's a nice feeling, but it's a new feeling as well, so it's so strange," she answered. "I'm sure you're much more used to love than I am, at the very least," I told her, smirking.

"Not really.. No, I've never dated anyone before," she said, looking up at me and smiling brightly.

"_Never_?" I asked, interested.

"Naw.. I never was really interested in anyone in California. I mean, maybe a crush every now and then, but nothing serious that I felt like making a big deal out of," she explained.

"Wow.. I didn't expect that one," I laughed.

"I know.. Nowadays everyone starts dating super young. Like, fourteen, or so?" she said.

"It's strange, though.. I'd have thought you'd dated plenty of men already.." I laughed, "What kind of idiot would pass up the chance to date you?"

"Oh, trust me.. I'm not that great," she blushed.

She was so modest.

"So, what do you do for fun? How have you been passing the time since you moved here?" I smiled, squeezing her hand.

"Well.. The first morning I was here, I walked around town a bit. I was just looking around at things, getting to know the place," she smiled.

"Did you meet anybody?" I asked her.

"No.. Well, this one guy talked to me for awhile, he knew my mother a long time ago," she explained.

Azura shivered a little and tried to cover it up by moving lightly away.

"You're cold. Should we take a break for the day?" I asked her, rubbing her hand.

"No! I'll be fine, I'm just nervous and _slightly_ cold. It's only November, it's not _that _cold yet!" she whined.

"Alright.." I smiled, "So what else have you done?"

"Met you.." she smiled, her eyes twinkling.

I smiled again, this time nervous laughter came with it. My nervous laughter made her laugh as well.

"Let's go take a walk!" she suggested, standing up and pulling me with her.

"Where to?" I asked, laughing again.

"Anywhere!" she exclaimed, grabbing snow from the ground and hitting me on the leg with it.

She laughed, then noticed my surprised look.

"That didn't hurt, did it?" she asked me, terror and humiliation creeping over her face.

"No, no! I was just taken aback.. No one has ever thrown snow at me before, I don't think.." I mused. "Oh, good! You scared me at first. I thought I made you upset.." she laughed gently, pulling a strand of hair out of her face."Of course not!" I answered, walking over to her.

I raised my left hand to her cheek and kissed her softly on the lips. While keeping her occupied, I raised my right hand above us both and swayed it around a few times, creating snow that fell over us. When we released, she looked up at the falling snow, smiling in awe.

"I don't think you'll ever stop amazing me," she sighed out.

I smiled, stepping away from her.

"So.. We were going to go for a walk before I rudely interrupted you," I reminded her, smiling.

"Ah, but you interrupted in the most wonderful way!" she laughed.

She grabbed my hand and we started to walk away, but she stopped for a second.

"Aw.. I'm going to miss the snow," she told me, looking back up at it.

I looked up as well, realizing how much I took my snow for granted. I smiled, and waved my hand again, this time creating wind that shook the trees, allowing the snow to fall loosely from the branches and onto the ground. This made Azura's face light up and she pulled me through the woods. Walking around was relaxing, it kept my mind off what to say. All we had to do was walk and enjoy the silence. Occasionally, she'd let go of my hand and run off in a different direction when she'd find something different. We stopped first when she saw a rabbit hopping out from its burrow.

She ran over to it and cooed, coaxing it to come closer.

"Come here! Come here," she asked more gently, motioning him over with her hand. I stared at her as she smiled, mimicking her smile. She looked so sweet, so gentle. I walked over towards her and knelt down in the snow, trying to let the rabbit know I meant no harm. The rabbit stared at us, twitching his nose in hesitation. After staring at him for what seemed like minutes, he dodged away, heading back into his burrow.

"Hmm.." Azura chuckled, grabbing my hand and walking us back into the right direction.

We walked for a while in silence again. Sometimes Azura would ask me to frost things for her, for entertainment. She loved the way I painted. After a while, I would paint her eyes, or her lips, or her whole face onto things. She would kiss my hand, the one she held on to, in thanks.

After an hour passed of us walking around, we decided to head back. I walked her all the way to the clearing, and we hugged before she emerged from the woods. She turned around, waved sadly, and said, "I'll miss you."

I smiled, waved, and told her I'd miss her as well. She then turned around and walked home. I watched as she opened the door, fidgeting with the handle, turning back around to look for me. She smiled, and then walked in the rest of the way, shutting the door as she stared out towards me. Finally I walked away when I knew she was safely inside.


	20. Chapter 3 Part 6

**Chapter 3 : Drowning In The Sea Of Love  
Part 6**

_**Azura**_

I opened my bedroom door just as I saw Jack walk up to my window. He had a smile on his face. The window was shut, so when he began to speak, I couldn't hear what he said. As I got nearer the window, his breath made the window freeze over, causing the words to form into icicles, it said..

"_YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL_"

I giggled and crawled onto the bed and over towards the window. I opened the window and he smiled again. I leaned out to kiss him and we held each other there for a few minutes. Pulling the hair that was in his eyes out of his way, I looked at him, into his eyes. He laughed anxiously, caressing his right hand against my cheek.

"I should probably go," he mused, looking into my eyes.

"Awww.. I'm going to miss you," I sighed, hugging him.

"I'll miss you as well, but I don't think your parents would like to someday happen to see you talking to yourself with the window open in the winter.. It almost looks... crazy," he teased, laughing.

I giggled, pushing him away and then pulling him back in, smiling, "Alright. You may go."

"Goodbye," he smiled sadly, kissing me on the cheek.

"Bye!" I murmured, frowning as he pulled away. I watched as he walked back into the woods, disappearing behind a group of trees. I closed the window and let out a sigh, falling into the bed.

Love. I wanted to scream it from a mountain. I wanted to write Jack's name in every notebook I owned. On every inch of my wall. I loved him and I wanted to tell him so. But how? I mulled it over in my head as I drifted off into a soft slumber.


	21. Chapter 4 Part 1

**Chapter 4 : Heart Of Glass**

**Part 1**

_**Azura**_

I wanted to bring it up slowly. The thought was in my head constantly. Haunting me when I awoke, and dwelling there until now, when I finished dressing for the day. I yearned to tell him that I loved him so much, but was it too soon? I'd only really known him a few days. Am I supposed to wait a week? A few? Was it alright to tell him now? Now that I've felt what love was, I wanted him to feel it as well. I really didn't like the idea of being the one to bring it up, but I knew deep down inside that I would be. I decided to write in my journal again, to get things off my chest.

..

**_November 26th, 2009_**

**_ Dear Diary, _**

**_ It's Thanksgiving today, and I can only think of one reason to be thankful. The fact that I have Jack in my life now. This morning he left me a note. It said, "Thank God I found you." I cried buckets of joyful tears for what seemed like hours and couldn't stop smiling. I am going to be stuck in this house all day with no way to see Jack until late tonight, and I hope he'll see me then. I can't just say, "Hey, Mom. I have a question. Can I bring my imaginary boyfriend over for dinner tonight?" I don't think she'd appreciate that one. _**

**_ Azura_**

..

I threw my journal under my bed and walked to the kitchen. When I entered, I could tell my mother was already preparing for the night. I never understood how someone could awake at early hours to clean and stuff a bird, and then baste it every-so-often. It didn't make sense to me.

I almost always help my mom prepare Thanksgiving dinner. I've done it since I was a toddler, so I was used to coming in the kitchen early morning on this particular day and get right to the task at hand. It was also easier to talk to my mom when I was helping her prepare and cook. I didn't have to talk to her directly, which meant she wasn't able to tell if I was lying or not.

"Hey," I acknowledged, grabbing for an apron in a kitchen drawer.

"Hey, Azura. Would you mind helping me out here?" my mother asked me, motioning her messy hands from the seasoning shaker to the turkey.

"Yeah, just tell me when to stop," I told her, tying the apron behind me and grabbing the shaker in one hand. I then began to shake until she told me when.

"Is something wrong, Azura?" my mother asked, cocking her head to the side and peering at me.

"No.. Why? Does it look like there's something wrong?" I tried to lie.

"Kind of," she said sadly, "I don't know. You're acting a lot different than _normal_ for you."

"What's normal? For me, I mean?" I asked her, laughing.

"Well.. First of all, you're a bit more lively today," she pointed out, attempting to flip her hair out of her eyes with her wrist, since her hands were messy from the turkey.

"Well, it's the holiday, and I know you get so excited over things like this.. I figured I'd be a good little girl today," I smiled sweetly.

"Have you talked to _anyone_ here, yet?" my mother questioned me, wrinkling her eyebrows.

"What do you mean?" I asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"I think it's time for you to start going out a bit. You know.. Get to know some of the kids here your age," she explained.

"Ehh.. no," I shrugged, "Not for me."

"Why not?!" she complained.

"Why _should_ I? I haven't even seen any teenagers, really. How do I know this isn't some city that only consists of old people? I swear I'm the only teenager here. _Child_, even!" I whined, fiddling with the seasoning shaker.

"You know there are. You just need to go out one of these days and start talking to someone. Make friends! Do it_ now_, before you start school and feel even more alone!" she told me, patting the turkey.

"Mom, let's not talk about this anymore," I pouted.

"Alright. But just think about it, okay?" she said, waving her hands in the air.

"Mm-hmm." I hummed.

"Alright?!" she asked again.

"Alright!" I yelled, throwing the shaker onto the counter.

"Don't get testy. I'm just saying.." she continued, walking to the sink to wash her hands.

I walked away from the kitchen, about to head out the door, when I felt the need to stop inside the doorway and turn around.

"Mom.." I began.

"Yes?" she said sincerely, turning around to face me.

"Umm," I hid my face behind the wall in the dining room, "What if I already met someone?"

"Really?! Who?" she asked, laughing, "That's great, Honey! Who is she?"

"Well... She's a he, first of all," I corrected.

"A he?" her left eyebrow raised.

"Yes. A he," I responded, "His name is Jack."

"Jack?" she smiled, her eyes glistening. I knew right then and there which parent I got my eyes - my _emotions_ - from.

"Yes," I laughed crazily. _Why on Earth am I telling her this?!_

"Oh my God, do I get to meet him?" she asked me, walking towards me with outstretched arms.

How awkward. Our first mother-daughter moment, and I couldn't explain to her anything about Jack.

"Umm.. Maybe later. We just met, that would be a little weird," I explained.

"So you guys are _seeing_ each other, then?" she smiled.

"Sort of," I mumbled, hoping she didn't hear me. _How does my mother beat this out of me?!_

"Oh, wow! That's just great!" she smiled. Then, getting a little serious, she added, "How did you meet him?"

"Umm, I dunno. We just met on one of my walks I've been taking. He lives kind of nearby," I lied.

"You should invite him over for dinner!" she beamed.

"No!"

"Why not?!" she looked upset.

"Because.. He's.. Umm.." I paused. _Invisible?_

_ Think, Azura! Think!! _

"He's out of town, visiting his.. Grandparents, I think he said?" I lied, clasping my hands innocently.

I looked at my mom, expecting her to see through me. She looked suspicious. Her eyes glared down at me, trying to figure out what I was hiding. Then she did something I didn't expect. Her face broke into a smile, and she laughed.

"Well.. When he comes back, I get to meet him!" she insisted.

"Alright.." I answered slowly, backing out of the kitchen.

I needed to leave. I did a bad, bad thing. I should not have said anything to my mom.

"Azura, where are you going?" she called after me.

"I forgot to turn my stereo off in my bedroom. I should probably turn it off before Dad hears and goes off on one of his_ energy_ conserving discussions," I lied, walking towards my bedroom.

"Okay.. Come back, though. I want to know all about this Jack boy," I heard her yell after me.

I winced.

"I will!" I called back, running faster through the hallway to my bedroom.

_ Dammit, dammit, dammit! How thick can I be?_!, I thought to myself.

"How am I going to get myself out of_ this_ one?" I muttered to myself, shaking my head and crawling into bed.

I pulled the covers up over me and thought hard.


	22. Chapter 4 Part 2

**Chapter 4 : Heart Of Glass**

**Part 2**

_**Azura**_

I woke up. I must have drifted off sometime between thoughts. I had slept for only an hour. I turned my stereo on and searched for a CD to play in my collection. I decided on Innocence Mission's album "Glow", and put that into the stereo system. I opted for the track "_Bright As Yellow_".

I needed to do something creative. I was no good at drawing, especially compared to Jack's work, but I grabbed my sketchpad anyway and began to draw whatever came to mind. I started out with lines crossing each other, but ended up drawing a bunch of snowflakes and hearts. I was so dull artistically, I couldn't think of something real to draw. Does happiness do that to your mind? Maybe love? What evil symptoms you create when you fall in love. I couldn't even sign the damn thing, it was too dreary. I threw my sketchpad at the foot of my bed and laid down, crossing my arms behind my head.

_ Jack. Jack Frost. Azura Frost. Azura Katherine Frost_.

That would be impossible. Marriage? Hah! To an invisible man.. Sheesh, what am I going to do? This is hopeless.

I was tempted to go back to our stream, but I knew he wouldn't be there. I'd just freeze to death waiting for him to come. I wanted him to come back.

I sat up and crawled over to my window. Oh, how I loved this window. It was my gateway to not only freedom, but to love as well. I looked up at the note Jack wrote this morning, my hand an inch from the pane. With careful traces, I gracefully set my index finger into the frost on a place he hadn't written. I wanted to write him a message. I decided on just writing "_I MISS YOU_".

I decided to go back to the kitchen to apologize to my mother for taking a nap when I promised to be right back. I couldn't think of anything better to do.


	23. Chapter 4 Part 3

**Chapter 4 : Heart Of Glass  
Part 3**

**_Azura_**

"Azura, what are you thankful for?" my mother asked me, as she was mashing potatoes.

"Thankful?" I repeated, thinking hard.

"Aren't you thankful for anything?" she asked me again.

"Well, sure," I began, "I'm really glad we came here."

"Really?" she asked excitedly, her eyes glossing over.

"Yes.. I mean.. I miss some of my friends, but I'll get over it," I told her.

"You'll see them again, anyway. A lot of people move away, it's common," she nodded her head.

Just then, my dad walked in.

"Food done yet?" he asked, kissing my mom on the cheek.

"Not yet, Dave. Almost, though," she said, kissing the air as he kissed her cheek.

I started to walk away. Seeing love right now was depressing - I wanted my Jack.

"Hey. Azura," Dad called after me.

I turned around, "Yeah?"

"You've been going outside pretty often, right?"

"Uh-huh," I answered.

"Well, keep warm, because it's been getting ungodly cold out lately," he said, hugging my mom around the waist.

"I will," I promised.

"Azura, aren't you going to help me? You haven't done a thing yet!" mom called to me when I turned around to leave.

"Dad can help, can't he?"

"Sure, I'll help, Lucy," Dad smiled, smacking Mom in the butt, "But Azura, you could really help us both."

"Ugh, why?" I complained.

"Everything is _almost_ done, anyway, so stick around in here and we can eat dinner soon," Mom said.

I grabbed plates and silverware and set them out while my parents half-cooked, half-made out in the kitchen. There was a reason people invented doors, and apparently my parents never understood the word '_discreet_' before.

Finally, once the food was set down, we had Thanksgiving dinner. It was wonderful. After dinner, I walked back into my bedroom, while my parents put everything on the table away.


	24. Chapter 4 Part 4

**Chapter 4 : Heart Of Glass  
Part 4**

_**Azura**_

I opened my door to my bedroom and saw Jack near the window, peering at my note I left him in the window this morning. He pointed at it and smiled, closing his eyes and touching the left side of his chest. I smiled back and ran towards the window, opening it as fast as I could. When it was finally opened, I gave him the biggest kiss ever imaginable.

"Miss me?" he asked, putting his hand behind my head.

"Excessively!" I answered, kissing his cheek.

He smiled and held me back at arm's length, looking into my eyes. We stared at each other for a few minutes, smiling.

"I-," he paused- _hesitated_- smiling, "Um.. I brought you something,"

"Really?" I chuckled merrily, looking down. _Damn. I thought he was going to tell me he loved me._

"Yes," he laughed, putting his left hand in his coat pocket. When he brought it back out, it was wrapped tightly around something.

I wrinkled my eyebrows and cocked my head to the side, bewildered, "What's that?"

He smiled, unclenching his hand. In it was a bunch of red petals from off of a rose. At first I thought he meant for it to be a whole rose, and that it had damaged on the way here, but he stayed calm and held it out for me to see. I was about to pick one of the petals up, but he pulled his hand away and smiled teasingly. I laughed, putting my hands on my hips. Then he pulled his hand up closer, as if to blow a kiss, and he blew onto the petals. The rose petals danced up into the air and began to spin around in circles. They danced around like fire for awhile, in his ice cold hands. I opened my mouth in awe as they began to form around each other, and freeze themselves back into the shape of a rose. The rose fell into his palm, and he then set it into my own hands.

"How on Earth did you do that?!" I asked, transfixed.

"I went a little bit out of the way, to California.. I wanted to see the landscapes you grew up seeing.. I saw this rose that fell off a shrub, and I figured I'd bring it to you.. If that's alright," he said, smiling and looking down. He looked embarrassed.

"You went to California?" I asked, amazed.

"Yes," he smiled sweetly, "So... If you hear any weather reports of it snowing in California, it was probably me."

"Aww!" I cooed, kissing his forehead. I held the rose up and examined it. It looked perfectly intact.

"You are so beautiful," he breathed, tossing my hair out of my eyes.

I smiled, feeling tears collect in my eyes. He was _too_ sweet to me.

"Thank you, Jack," I said, hugging him and feeling a few shudders come up in my chest.

"I love how you get so emotional," he commented, putting a hand on my cheek and looking up at me.

"Perhaps it's because of you," I suggested.

"What do you mean?" he laughed.

"You were saying something about how you and the other personifications don't feel anything physically, but emotionally? Maybe you've affected me," I said.

"Maybe.." he smiled again, looking away.

I stared at him while he was looking away, wondering how beautiful and amazing one man can be. I grabbed his face in both hands and brushed my lips against his cheek, below his right eye. I could feel his eyes close and hear his breathing become more heavily.

"Jack, I-" _Say it, Azura!_

Jack looked up at me and leaned his hand against the window above me.

"I- Umm.." _Come o__n!_ "I _lo_-"

There was a sound of breaking glass. I couldn't see anything. In one move, Jack had pushed me back, in through the window. When I was completely through, I saw shards of glass and ice fall like snow or rain.

"_Jack_!" I screamed, shutting my mouth instantly, fearing my parents would hear.

"Are you alright?!" he asked anxiously, feeling all over my body for scratches.

"I'm fine! Are you alright?" I asked, but heard pounding at my door and my dad's voice resounding.

Jack ducked under the window as my father barged in.

"Dad!" I shouted, dazed.

"Jesus, Azura! What _happened_ in here?!" he asked me, rushing over to the bed.

I had my hands raised a little, surrounded by glass. I must have looked crazy.

"Umm," I thought aloud.

"Are you okay, Hon?" my mom asked me, walking in slowly behind my dad.

"I'm alright," I assured them, tears welling up in my eyes.

"What _happened_, Azura?!" Dad cried out, looking around the window for any signs of how it could have broke. Then he saw the ice crystals, "Jeez!_ Look at this_, Lucy!"

My mom peered over me at the glass on the bed, she looked scared and angry.

"What?!" she asked, unsure what she was looking at.

"The glass must have gotten so cold it broke or something, I don't know!" he said amazed, shaking his head.

Mom put her arms around me and hugged me tight, whispering again if I was alright.

"I'm fine," I promised.

"What are we going to do with her window, though? It's going to get so cold in here! She'll have to sleep in the living room tonight," Mom said, mostly to herself.

"No!" I yelped.

"I'll have to buy the supplies for it tomorrow. I'll take the frame into a shop in the morning and have them fix it while I'm at work," Dad said, and keeping a careful hand to steady the frame, he started taking the window out, "Luce, why don't you grab some of that plastic I bought for the windows for winter. It's already getting cold enough, obviously,"

My mother nodded and walked out of the bedroom.

"Dad, can't I sleep in here tonight?" I asked him.

Dad kept his eye on the window. He wasn't listening.

"Dad?!" I shouted louder. "Umm.. If it gets warmer in here, I don't see why not," he nodded.

"Oh, thank God," I said, putting a hand over my chest.

"Zuzu, how did this happen? Did you touch it when it broke or something?" he asked me as the frame slid out of the window.

"Umm, kind of.." I lied, trying to think of an excuse, "I was about to open it because I was getting too hot in here, and it just broke right in front of me. I heard a noise and let go as it started to shatter."

_ God, I'm good. _

"It's a good thing you let go when you did, I've seen really bad scars that came from windows breaking," he laughed, shaking his head.

Mom walked in with a big roll of plastic in her hands.

"This?" she asked Dad, holding it up.

"That's it. Let's get this glass off the bed, first," Dad suggested, leaning the frame for the window against my bed.

Mom walked out again and came back in a few seconds with a garbage can. She and Dad pulled my blanket and sheets off the bed and began to shake everything out.

"Azura, go grab some blankets for tonight," Dad told me.

"Azura is _not_ sleeping in here, the window isn't in yet!" Mom complained.

"Mom, I _want_ to!" I whined, feeling immature.

"No, Azura. Not until the window is fixed," Mom demanded.

"Zuzu, go get some blankets and I'll talk to your mom about it some more," Dad assured.

I walked out of the bedroom, panicking. I _needed_ to sleep in my bed. I just had to. I also needed my window, but it was broken now, and I would have no love notes in the morning. I grabbed my black pea coat and headed for the door. I wanted to talk to Jack again. Explain this mess.


	25. Chapter 4 Part 5

**Chapter 4 : Heart Of Glass**

**Part 5**

_**Azura**_

"Jack?" I called in the moonlight, awaiting him in the woods.

I couldn't hear anything.

"Azura?" I heard someone say. It wasn't the husky, low voice I knew as Jack's. It was a female's.

"Umm.. Yes? Do I know you?" I asked, peering in the dark for a face I could not see.

"Not really, no," she said, laughing in a haunting voice.

"Then how do you know me?" I questioned, _trying_ to sound polite.

"I'm a good friend of Jack's," she answered.

Instant jealousy. I did not know this woman, but she knew Jack.

"How?" I asked, glaring.

"My name is Morta," she answered, ignoring my question.

"Hi," I rolled my eyes, waving in the dark at nothing. I could tell I didn't sound happy.

"Jack had to leave real quickly.. He had some urgent matters to discuss with someone," she explained.

I started to panic again. This time, it wasn't for my life. It was for Jack's.

"Is he alright?" I asked her, stepping closer to where her voice was coming from.

"He's fine. For now," she said briefly, "He'll be back later."

"Oh.." I nodded, feeling hurt. _Who was this woman?_ "Morta, right?"

"Yes."

"Can I ask you a personal question?" I asked her, crossing my arms. It was quite chilly today.

"Shoot."

"Umm.. Have you and Jack ever.." I couldn't even finish the question, it was too heartbreaking.

"I think I know what you're about to ask.. And no. Jack and I have _never_ been together in the way the two of you are," she answered, "We are like brother and sister."

"Good," I sighed.

"Would it matter, anyway?" she laughed, "I mean, he loves you very much."

"He does?" I smiled. I was glad Morta couldn't see me, I was blushing scarlet.

"Yes."

"Morta, can I ask you another question?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Umm.. What do you do? For a.. living, I guess?" I asked her.

"I send people to the other side," she answered solemnly.

"You mean.. You're Death?" I asked, in awe.

"Sort of," she replied.

"Wow.." I whispered.

"Here, he wanted me to give this to you," she told me.

I felt something touch my hand, it was soft. I lightly held it, trying to figure out what it was. It was the rose he gave me.

"Azura, it was nice to meet you and all, but I have to go," Morta explained. I could hear the sound of scraping metal. I didn't want to know where it came from.

"Right, sorry," I blushed again, "Tell Jack, if you see him, that I'll try to wait up for him tonight, please?"

"I'll try to.." she answered. I heard a whooshing sound, and figured she left. I was glad I hadn't seen her face. Death, in the flesh. Jack's friend. His friend that is also female.

I held the rose tightly with both hands. It wasn't on a stem, so it was harder to hold on to than I thought. I walked home in silence, wondering who Jack was talking to.


	26. Chapter 4 Part 6

_**Chapter 4 : Heart Of Glass**_

_**Part 6**_

_**Azura**_

Immediately when I got back into the house, I saw the blanket and pillow on the couch and cursed at my mom under my breath. The lights were dim in the house, so I knew they were already in bed. I tiptoed into my bedroom with the blanket and pillow and began to make my bed. I was confused, worried. I wasn't sure who Jack was talking to, and I was worried it was someone that found out about him and I. Though if this Morta woman knew about us, who else does? I was worried, anxious, _angry_. What was happening? I felt around my bed with my hand until I grabbed my journal. I went to the next empty page and began to write every possible emotion I was feeling.

…

_**November 26, 2009  
Dear Diary,**_

_** Many things happened today and I am so confused. I helped Mom with dinner and afterwards Jack visited me by my bedroom were so happy and excited, kissing and hugging. But at some point, Jack broke the bedroom window. Not out of anger - I don't really know why. He made the window freeze, apparently. He left right away, and my parents walked in and saw the window was broken and put all this plastic up. I won't be able to see Jack tonight, I'm afraid! While they were putting up the plastic to keep the room semi-warm, I took a walk to find Jack and he wasn't anywhere nearby. I met this girl he's friends with, though. Her name is Morta. I guess she is Death, sort of. I don't know, she's confusing as well. I miss Jack, and I'm worried. Morta told me that Jack is talking with someone about something important, and I hate to sound arrogant, but I am worried it's about me. I hope I haven't gotten him in any trouble! **_

_** Azura**__…_

_..._

I threw my journal really hard into the closet door, instantly resenting it. I closed my eyes, hoping my mom hadn't heard me in here. I couldn't hear the sound of footsteps, so I figured I was alright. I needed music. I went to my stereo and looked through my collection. I decided on Nouvelle Vague's track 'Killing Moon'. I put the song on repeat, trying to get into a trance. Closing my eyes, I fell back into the bed and started drifting off.


	27. Chapter 4 Part 7

**Chapter 4 : Heart Of Glass**

**Part 7**

_**Azura**_

_ Drip. Drip. Drip._

_ I heard the sound of a creak, and the dripping stopped. My eyes are closed? _

I opened my eyes. The walls were red. Blood red. I sat up, noticing my attire. I was wearing a black, lacy dress.

_Another creak sounded, and the dripping came back._

Where was that dripping coming from? I decided to investigate the sound, walking into the only room other than the one I was already in. A man with chin-length hair was staring up at me. He was expecting me. He smiled.

"I'm sorry," I blushed, scratching my head. _What in the hell am I doing here with this man?_

"It's alright, Azura," the man smiled, turning off the faucet that was dripping, "I didn't think you'd be here for quite awhile.. You must have been pretty tired, eh?"

"What?" I asked, confused.

"I'm sorry, I haven't even introduced myself," he laughed, putting his hand to his mouth.

He looked oddly familiar. Like I had met him before. I mulled it over in my head, concentrating.

_ That dream._

His face relaxed, as if he could read my thoughts and understood that I knew who he was.

"Don't get me confused with my brother, Phobetor!" he said, waving his hands around. He laughed again.

"Who are you?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow. I felt quite underdressed. I crossed my arms over my chest.

"I'm Phantasos. You can say I'm the romantic one of my brothers," he smiled, raising his arms in self-satisfaction.

"Well.. What are you doing here?" I asked, then nudged him and whispered, "This isn't very romantic, you know."

"No. Not yet. Soon! Soon, my Dear!" he answered.

"Is Jack going to be here?" I asked, excited.

"Well, in a way," he said, cocking his head and wrinkling his nose.

"You mean 'in spirit', or something?" I asked, sadness overcoming me.

"Unfortunately, yes. Jack can't really come into my realm. Same as how I could never come into his. If he had a realm, that is. The man never made a home for himself," he laughed.

"How well do you know Jack?" I asked, smiling.

I leaned up against the bathroom counter.

"Well, I'm not as chummy with him as Phobetor or Morta, really, but we get along pretty well. He likes his depressing people, you know," he winked.

"Right," I laughed.

"But I'm not here to talk about Jack, really," he explained, "I wanted to meet you myself and give you the best gift of all."

I felt suspicious. Another arrogant feeling settled in me and I thought he was trying to come on to me.

"What's that?" I asked, backing a little bit away from him and the counter.

"Don't worry, Dear. Not that," he laughed, "I wanted you to see what Jack what have been like as a human. As if the two of you were both in love - Not that you would need any help there, though," he laughed and winked again.

"A human Jack?" I swallowed.

"Well, let's call it a _mortal_ Jack. 'Making him human' sounds like he's a robot or something, really," he said, flaring his nostrils and widening his eyes to be funny.

I laughed, completely bewildered.

"When is he coming, then?" I asked, excited.

I loved my Jack just the way he was, but I was curious to see him this way.

Phantasos smiled at me, walking closer. He grabbed my elbow and veered me out of the bathroom. The walls were a different color. They were bright, light blue. Like ice.

"He'll be here any minute now," Phantasos smiled.

I sat down on the bed and wondered if this was a trick. Was Jack coming?

I was about to stand back up when I saw the door open.

"Sorry, Sweetheart," Jack's warm voice spoke. Phantasos smiled, and vanished into thin air.

Jack walked in. His eyes were still bright blue, his skin still just as pale and gorgeous as ever.

"Jack?" I asked. I couldn't believe this was his human form. He was still too beautiful and magnificent to be human.

"I'm right here," he answered, walking over to me.

When he reached the bed, he grabbed my hands with his own _warm_ hands and pulled me into a standing position. He put a hand over my cheek and kissed my lips. Then he kissed my forehead.

I felt love in every inch of my body. My body was on fire and my heart was exploding. I kissed him repeatedly, pulling his hair. He kissed me one last time and then picked me up and laid me onto the bed. He crawled over me and slid his hands over my thighs, sliding up to my hips. He pulled my hips towards him and began to kiss my shoulder. I wrapped my arms around him and lost every thought I had in that moment. The heat coming off my body was too much to handle. Jack was just as hot, so I started out with taking his jacket off of him. Then I pulled off his black sweater. I closed my eyes as he helped me undress, and undressed the rest of himself. I tried to imagine this was really Jack. I felt him slide inside me.

_ So warm._

I opened my eyes, feeling a jolt of electricity. _Shock._ I pulled his bare chest up against mine. I wanted him closer.

This feeling was so good I never wanted it to end. I touched his face and smiled, kissing him..

"I _love_ you, Jack," I managed to say.

"Love you too," he whispered, kissing my cheek.


	28. Chapter 4 Part 8

**Chapter 4 : Heart Of Glass  
Part 8**

_**Azura**_

I woke up with a smile on my face. I heard the song I had playing repeat itself over and I turned it off. I sat up, stretching and yawning. I looked over at my window. Well, lack thereof. I looked over at it, and noticed there was permanent marker written on the plastic. I chuckled, trying to read it right.

It said, "_DREAMERS_".

As if something switched on in my brain, I reflexively went to my stereo and knew there was a song I had in my collection called that. I looked through until I got to a name that caught my eye. "Edith Frost". I smiled crazily, searching through the titles.

_There it is!_

Dreamers. _Did Jack know about my dream?_, I thought, as I grabbed the CD out of its case and set it carefully into the stereo. I flipped the track to Dreamers and laid back into bed. I had forgotten how this song is so haunting yet soothing. How it can hypnotize you into a daze.

After the song finished, I stood up. I decided to take a shower and dress.

All day I spent in my room painting and drawing. Distracting myself, really. It was around 5PM when my father got home with the window frame. I was so glad to see it that I cried happily.

"Calm down, Zuzu! It's just a window," he laughed, walking in.

I mentally jumped up and down as he set the window against the wall to take the plastic off.

"What's this?" my dad asked, looking at Jack's note.

"Oh!" I squealed, forgetting about the note, "Umm, I wrote that to remember a song.. That I had forgotten about."

_ What happened to coming up with _good_ lies for a change?_

"Oh. On the plastic? Well, it's better than writing it on the _actual_ window, I guess," he shrugged, pulling the last of the plastic off.

"Do you need help with the window, Dad?" I asked, anxiously awaiting my new window.

"Nah, I got this," he assured me, picking the frame up and situating it into the wall. I dawdled a bit with my artwork, occasionally watching as my dad nailed the frame back into place. When he was finally done, I jumped up and scooted him out as fast as possible, thanking him as he left. When I turned around, Jack was already there at the window, smiling widely. I blushed, remembering my dream, and crawled onto my bed to open the window. He helped me open the window this time.

"I wish I could have been there," he said instantly.

I blushed. Had he meant my dream?

"Where?" I teased, blushing redder.

"I had a chat with Phantasos last night, and he asked me if it was alright if you had a dream about me," he smiled coyly, keeping the more detailed bit of the dream to himself and making it less humiliating for me.

"Oh," I blushed anyway, "You knew about that?"

I laughed nervously.

"It's alright. The only problem I have is that I could not have been there," he frowned.

"Aww.. Well, you were really _really_ amazing," I sighed, kissing him on the lips.

He smiled, touching a finger to my lips.

"I have to go, but I have one last thing I want to do," he said, kissing me again.

I stood back, waiting for what he was about to do. He could have done whatever he wanted and I wouldn't have worried. I trusted him with all my heart.

"Yes?" I asked, waiting as patiently as possible.

"You have to shut your window, though," he said, kissing me yet again.

"With me inside the room? Never," I kissed back.

"Please? For me?" he asked sweetly, kissing my cheek and hugging me tightly.

"Fine," I grumbled, making a sad puppy-dog face and pulling away. When I was inside, he shut my window. He stared at me for a few seconds, his finger touching the glass, frosting it as he went. The shape he made turned out to be my _face_. He was drawing me. He pressed lightly, so that you could barely see the drawing. When he had finished the outline, he blew frost out onto the window, creating words over the picture. It said, "_I __LOVE YOU_".

My heart fluttered. It took me a few seconds to comprehend what he was trying to tell me. As graceful as possible, I slid over to the side of the bed, next to the window. I traced lightly beside his note, "_I LOVE YOU_". We both smiled, and tears welled up in my eyes. I could barely see him when he opened the window one last time to kiss me goodbye and hug me again.

When he left, I excitedly kicked the bed underneath me, screaming in the pillow. I ran to my stereo and blasted PJ Harvey through the speakers.

Halfway through the album, while I was painting, I had realized something.

"_Oh shit_! I forgot to ask Jack who he was talking to last night!" I remembered, slapping my forehead in disgust._ I'll have to ask him tonight_, I thought to myself.


End file.
